Knight of the Wolf
by 7Knight-Wolf
Summary: Taking place in season three of Beast Wars, this story mainly centers on Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. It's sappy but clean: a real romance! Depth Charge and an OC also play big roles. T for some violence. Please review!
1. Brent's Pack

Disclaimer: 7Knight-Wolf claims no rights over Beast wars, its plot, or its characters.

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"You don't know what he meant to me! You'll never know!"

Optimus got Blackarachnia's door slammed right in his face. He withdrew with a sigh, and turned to Rattrap with a look that said, "_Don't say a word_."

Rattrap and Optimus stood in silence for a moment until they heard a quiet, miserable sound coming from Blackarachnia's quarters. "I don't believe it," Rattrap ventured. "Is she actually _crying_?"

Cheetor, tall and slim in his Transmetal 2 form, joined them from farther down the hallway. "Get real, rat-face," he growled; "Blackarachnia doesn't _cry_. She never _ever_ cries."

Optimus sighed again. "Well this time it's different. The two of them had so much hope…."

Cheetor's face fell suddenly in grief. "Yeah…she's not used to the world yet. I learned about the world as soon as Tigatron and Air-razor were captured by the aliens." His voice went slightly off balance as he mentioned his old friends' names. "I learned that in the world, evil strikes the good the hardest. They disappear…the ones you love most. It's not fair."

Optimus glanced at Cheetor in surprise. The cat-bot often uttered "Tigatron" and "Air-razor" in sleep, but it had been long since he mentioned their names in waking life. A sad opinion like the one the Transmetal Cheetah had just voiced required constant heartache and grief. Optimus felt the guilt was his. If he had not let Cheetor board the Axalon with him in the first place, maybe the kid would not have had such bad experiences.

"Well, uh—is she gonna come out or not?" Rattrap asked. "I mean, can't we just get this processor-racking ceremony thing over with?"

"Shut up!" Cheetor snapped suddenly. "If you had any respect for either of them you'd value this ceremony!"

"Hey, don't go say'n I don't care!" Rattrap retorted just as ferociously. "I 'value' both of them. But this stink'n ceremony thing is another story. Ya can't just say 'we'll all respect him, and now we'll forget 'im and move on.' It don't work that way, for all the energon in Cybertron! So stop try'n to make us get over it!"

Optimus was again surprised. He had no idea that this would affect Rattrap, of all the maximals. Optimus turned and knocked on Blackarachnia's door. "Blackarachnia?" his voice came, surprisingly soft. "We're starting in a minute. Would you please come out?"

"Yeah; it wouldn't be the same without you," Cheetor implored.

***

The warrior lay on the ground. It was dark, it was cold, and it was empty. Or at least, he thought it was. Was it the sky that seemed empty, or was it the warrior's mind? He sat up. The myriads of stars twinkled around him. The warrior closed his eyes again. The only thing he felt was pain, and a great feeling of loss that he could not explain. Pain. Where was it coming from?

The warrior reopened his eyes, and found that he was a wolf. He had no tail and was dirty, but beneath that dirt his fur was sleek and silvery. There was a stinging pain on the warrior's shoulders, and there seemed to be scars there too. Pain pulsated also from the warrior's front feet—they felt odd and clumsy as if cut short. But there was a third ache, not so much a throbbing pain, but a heavy, oppressive soreness in the warrior's chest.

Suddenly the warrior realized he was surrounded by eight or nine brawny wolves. He froze. A Black Wolf was there, fighting savagely. It was fighting against a second canine which was huge and muscular. This gigantic wolf was the leader of the pack, the alpha wolf. The Black Wolf was struggling to gain the upper paw in the battle.

The Black Wolf darted between the alpha wolf's front legs and sank his teeth into his opponent's chest. Jerking violently, the Black Wolf managed to flip the huge alpha wolf onto his side, where he snarled in pain. Making a come-back, the alpha wolf thrust out his back paws and tripped the Black Wolf. He then stood up and put both his claw-loaded front paws on top of the fallen Black Wolf. The black wolf clamped his jaws onto the alpha wolf's paw, while kicking with his back paws to push his heavy enemy off him.

This plan worked, and the big alpha wolf fell to the ground again. The Black Wolf stood over his adversary, and waited to see what he would do. Obviously the phrase "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" was in the right, for the alpha wolf snarled his defeat. The Black Wolf was victorious.

"Darkstar," the alpha wolf roared at the Black Wolf. "You won your battle, but I hope this doesn't mean you're fighting for my position in the pack!"

The warrior's mouth dropped. He had been watching these wolves for a few minutes now, but he just realized that he could understand what they were saying! He could speak wolf! Somehow, this surprised him.

"I'm not after your position," The Black Wolf snarled. "You know what I want."

"Yes, but I can still hardly believe it." The alpha wolf looked at the warrior for the first time, and it was a look of disgust. Then he turned again to the Black Wolf and asked, "Do you actually want to keep that _thing_ alive?"

The Black Wolf smiled. "Would I have beaten you up like that if I didn't?" He then walked gracefully over to the warrior and studied him. "You're afraid," said the Black Wolf, in wolf communication.

"Don't I have a right to be afraid?" the warrior asked.

The Black Wolf smiled, showing his keen teeth which he had effectively used in the battle with the alpha wolf. They were still blood-stained. "Hmm, I really don't know. What do _you_ think?"

The warrior felt uncomfortable. "I think you should take a few steps back," he said. "And yes, I admit to trepidation. How can I feel otherwise, when I am thus surrounded by unfamiliar faces?"

"Mm. So who are you?" the Black Wolf demanded.

"I don't know," replied the warrior. "I am unaware of who I am or where I'm from. All I have been able to certify is that I am a wolf, like you, and I am a warrior."

"Oh, a warrior, are you?" asked the Black Wolf. "I'm Darkstar. You know, you're in a pretty bad position for a warrior, lying on the ground like that. Say, I realize grand fighters like you don't like to implore. But you may have to beg for mercy before the end. Oh, don't get us wrong—we're as fine a pack of wolves as any. We're sociable carnivores who don't mean the world any harm, and we try to avoid bloodshed." The wolf's face hardened. "Except when things like _you_ come our way. We don't like intruders of your kind."

The Black Wolf looked at the leader of the wolves. He said, "This is the alpha wolf, Brent. He is, you see, putting a big glob on our spotless resume, by being so unfriendly and staring such…tst, tst, tst, _bloody_ battles within the pack. What shameful conduct!" Darkstar, the black wolf, smiled condescendingly at the alpha wolf, Brent.

"I've had enough of this!" Brent snarled. "Tell me what is going on! Are you mistaken, Darkstar? If this _is_ one of those filthy intruders, he sure doesn't look like one! And how come he can speak wolf? Why is it he remembers nothing?"

"I've made some adjustments," replied the Black Wolf coolly.

"ADJUSTMENTS?!" repeated the pack leader, still angry. "He can join the pack, but he's _your_ responsibility, Darkstar. If there's any trouble I'm holding _you _accountable."

Then the wolves all sat in a semi-circle, and made the warrior wolf join them. Brent, the pack's leader, came and sniffed the warrior. He then nodded approvingly.

"You're in," Brent stated. "First, you need a name."

The warrior wolf figured that this was a ceremony of welcome, but he wasn't feeling very relaxed. Brent hated him. He could sense it. And when Brent was not violent, he was patronizing.

"Well," the lead wolf went on, "we could call you Scar-Back. Or Cut-Toes. Then there's always Filthy Coat or Tail-less One." Brent smiled teasingly. "But since you in all your grandness are such a mighty warrior, we might call you Knight."

Though the warrior knew Brent was making fun of him, he liked the sound of that name. "Knight," said the warrior. "That will do."

"Then Knight it is!" Brent exclaimed with sarcastic happiness. "Welcome to the pack." He threw up his head and howled a deep and resounding howl that came from the depths of his chest. All the other wolves took up the chorus.

Knight howled as best he could. He was weak and still in pain, and he felt strangely uncomfortable under the watchful eyes of Darkstar the black wolf. But there was no need to feel unhappy, right? Knight was part of a pack now. That almost made up for having no memory and for the ache that plagued his heart.

No it didn't, though. That ache and feeling of loss was almost unbearable.


	2. In Memory Of

**2: In Memory Of…**

Blackarachnia sobbed miserably and painfully in her bed. "He's gone…he's gone," she cried, oblivious of the voices outside her door. She was half-unconscious from exhaustion, and half asleep, but she was still crying. In this half-conscious state, Blackarachnia was dreaming.

There they were, she and Silverbolt. Her dear love, Silverbolt. Then it all happened so quickly that it was a blur. Rocks falling, yells, flying through the air, then being knocked down again. She saw herself digging through the rocks, and then trying desperately to contact Optimus. Help! She needed help. Where was Silverbolt? She heard his internal computer, muffled somewhere beneath the rocks, saying: "Stasis lock must commence. Self repair circuitry damaged. Stasis lock must commence. Not commencing may result in loss of spark."

Blackarachnia was digging frantically; she had to find him! It was indescribably horrible, that she could hear his computer but she couldn't find him. She started screaming for him. Even now she mouthed the words. _Silverbolt, I'm here! I can't find you! Answer me! I can't find you! What do I do? Help me! Silverbolt! Can't you hear me? Where are you?!_ And all the time that awful computer was voice going: "Stasis lock circuitry severely damaged. Emergency repair circuitry offline. Spark loss inevitable."

No! No! Not Silverbolt. Blackarachnia dug through the rocks, so desperate and even physically in pain. Then she found him beneath the rock. She screamed, too upset to move. That was not Silverbolt! That dead, contorted thing. Her love! She saw Silverbolt's spark rising from his dead body, rising into the cliffs above. He couldn't be gone. He couldn't leave her.

"No!" Blackarachnia sat up in bed, hot tears streaming down her face. She sobbed and cried piteously, in the realization that her worst nightmare was true in waking life. How could this be? She cried out, no words in particular, just a miserable shout of nothingness choked with tears. And she didn't care who knew. She didn't care. Couldn't care.

Dizzy and blinded with tears, Blackarachnia opened the door to her quarters and walked out into the hall. She saw nothing and felt nothing. Not till she was half-way down the hall and she realized why she had gotten out of bed. They were having a ceremony about Silverbolt, and she was late. Struggling to look normal, biting back tears, she straightened up and walked down the hallway.

When she saw all the maximals in the main room, gathered with sad faces, it made her want to go back in her room and hide from the world. But she had to be brave, for Silverbolt. Optimus was just finishing his speech.

"…and was surely the noblest maximal I have ever met. It seems infinitely unfair to lose him, but we will get through it together. He would want us to hold together." Optimus gave Blackarachnia a hello smile, but she returned it with the most heartbroken look he had ever seen. "Now," Optimus continued, somewhat disturbed, "let's all say something that we loved about him. Some memory that each of us will cherish in our sparks. I, for one, appreciated his spirit of teamwork and honor; he seldom did anything harmful to of us, in speech or in act, and when he did he was always quick with regret and humble apologies. He was the knight in shining armor and a role model for all of us."

Rhinox spoke up next. "That fuzore was always there to lend me a helping hand. He helped me with monitor duty and kept me cheery when I was always at the computers. He would come in from a scout mission and describe the rocks, fields, and trees he had flown over. It kept me going."

Cheetor smiled faintly. "He was a pain sometimes. I didn't understand him at first. Why did everybody like him so much? Why were they so kind to him? Then I realized it was because _he_ was kind to _them_ first. He was nice to me too, even when…even when he knew I was wrong about stuff. We used to have races in our spare time, see who could fly faster. It's gonna be boring without him."

Every one looked at Depth Charge, waiting for him to speak. Depth Charge remained silent. Optimus shot him a ferocious glance that looked like a death threat. "He was determined," Depth Charge said gruffly. "You can't get far without determination."

Rattrap seemed to be struggling. "I—I—well, uh, he was just cool. There's so much to say about him. He was annoying but, I liked be'n around him. 'Silverbolt,' I'd say, 'I like be'n around ya.'"

Blackarachnia made a strange sound. She was stifling a sob as she burst into tears again. She had made it fine until they mentioned his name. Until Rattrap said _Silverbolt_.

"Blackarachnia, is there something you want to say about Silverbolt?" Optimus asked in a kind voice.

"I—I—" She broke off into miserable sobs again. She couldn't handle it. It was too much. She couldn't talk about him. "He was—Silverbolt—oh Silverbolt!" She couldn't speak at all.

"There, there," Cheetor soothed, putting his arm around her. She relaxed a little. "That's right. We're here. See? It's not so bad."

Blackarachnia grew furious. "YES IT IS BAD!" she screamed, hitting him in the gut with her elbow. "You'll never understand! I can't do it!" Blackarachnia took a last look at the maximals' shocked faces and darted out of the base.

"Blackarachnia, wait!" Optimus shouted.

"What's _her_ problem?" Depth Charge muttered.

"Was it somethin' I said?" Rattrap asked guiltily.

"No, it was somethin' _I_ said," Cheetor answered, and ran out of the room.


	3. Doings in Secret

**3: Doings in Secret**

Knight the wolf lay down, surrounded by warm, soft wolf bodies. He was comfortable, and he felt relaxed knowing Darkstar the black wolf was asleep. The wolves had all been nice to Knight, even though he was close to clueless about wolf hierarchy. Knight had learned he was a low-rank wolf, but that the other wolves had to be nice to him because he was a new-comer. This was courteous of them. Brent followed wolf protocol, but was insincere in his kind wishes for Knight's health and happiness. Also, Knight knew he could never be at ease while this nameless ache troubled him.

Suddenly Knight started, noticing Darkstar's keen blue eyes fixed intently on him. Darkstar was lying on his back, staring curiously at the newbie wolf from an upside-down angle.

Knight got another surprise, for when he looked into Darkstar's eyes he discovered that he could understand the expression as clear as if Darkstar was speaking words. This must be part of wolf-communication, understanding expression to a point Knight had thought impossible.

"Do you like it here?" Darkstar's eyes communicated.

Knight found he could talk through eye expressions just as well as Darkstar could. "It is too early to give a full opinion," the dirty, silver wolf replied.

"What do think of me?"

Though taken aback by Darkstar's openness, Knight saw no reason not to answer back just as frankly. "You frighten me," he said.

Darkstar raised the corners of his wolf mouth in a smile of amusement. "That's a compliment to me. It means you revere me. If you tell Brent you're afraid of him, he might like you more. You see, when you're a wolf, fear and respect of the leader means everything."

"Fear gives away weakness," observed Knight.

"Ah, but admission to weakness is a good, humble quality to have. It'll get you far in a wolf pack. We're not as bloodthirsty as we look." Darkstar showed his fangs again. "You'll grow to like most of the wolves in the pack. As for Brent, you just keep on being afraid."

***

Blackarachnia was running. She did not feel the branches scratching her as she ran through them, or the giant thorns pricking her feet as she darted through the undergrowth. She tripped over roots and got back up again, not caring where she was going or what might be following her. She just had to escape the world and everyone in it.

Now the spider-lady was in a dense, dark jungle with foliage underfoot and overhead. She ran into a dark clearing with trees behind her, to her left, and on her right; in front of her rose cold, black cliffs which hid the moonlight. Panting and too exhausted to run any farther, Blackarachnia fell down on the ground and, frankly, cried her spark out.

***

Blackarachnia awoke. She was still in the woods and Silverbolt was still dead. The birds which sang in the trees sounded like a broken music box to her ears. The sun was mocking her sorrow with bright golden beams of light.

The spider gasped. Suddenly she realized some one was bending over her, blocking the sunlight. She sat up in fear, but realized it was only Depth Charge.

"Get away," Blackarachnia hissed. "You're _not_ taking me back. I'll never _ever_ come back to the maximals again! You can't make me!!!"

"Oh really?" Depth Charge muttered. "Anyway, why don't you want to come back?"

"I can't bear it," Blackarachnia answered. "It makes me remember Silverbolt. _You_ make me remember Silverbolt. Everything reminds me of him! And I can't take that!"

"Look, he's dead," said Depth Charge coldly. "You can't bring him back. Most people _do_ die, you know. Get over it!"

"Oh _you're_ one to talk, you slagging fish!" Blackarachnia roared. "You won't stop getting all over Rampage because you to avenge your _stupid_ Omicron friends whose deaths _you're_ still mourning!"

Depth Charge's flared up with a ferociousness Blackarachnia had never seen. "Don't you dare talk like that!" he shouted. "I'll rip out your processor!"

"I'll dismember your spark!" Blackarachnia snapped back with nastiness she didn't know she had. "It's a pity Rampage didn't do it earlier! Ha, I'd like to have seen you, _Depth Charge_, so big and tough, _crying_ in the alleyway of Omicron like a little baby while Rampage did what served you right!"

Depth Charge's mouth dropped open. He was lost to words, too stunned by the assault to counterattack in any way. He turned his back on her.

"D—D—Depth Charge?" Blackarachnia's regret flooded her spark quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. But will you please leave me alone?!"

Blackarachnia waited for a reply, but heard only quick intakes of breath from Depth Charge. It was strange. Depth Charge sounded really hurt, almost gasping as if he had been stabbed by an energon knife. "How would you feel," the manta-ray said in a low, rasping voice, "if I said I would have liked to see _you_ crying in front of a dead Silverbolt, and that his death served you both right? How would that make you feel?"

Blackarachnia was silent. Had she really hurt him that much? She began to understand his feelings. "Omicron…" she whispered, "was it really that bad? You can't have been the _only_ survivor."

"Yes, I was," Depth Charge coughed in a coarse voice. "Everybody died. _Everybody_. Except for me. X destroyed everyone I cared about and he made sure their deaths were as slow and painful as possible. It doesn't make sense how the universe has been here as long as it has, if it's so full of _sick things_ like Rampage."

Blackarachnia had never heard Depth Charge talk this before. It was odd, but it didn't make her want him to stay. "Please leave," Blackarachnia begged. "I can't run to the maximals or the predacons. I don't want either of them. Silverbolt is gone."

Blackarachnia felt like a school-kid, when a kind teacher came along and taught her illiterate mind to know the alphabet. Then they planned to read a book together. But suddenly, the teacher leaves. Without so much as a goodbye, he was just gone before he had even finished teaching.

"It isn't fair," Blackarachnia moaned. "If Silverbolt were to die, I always imagined I'd die by his side. We'd both die noble deaths, in some great battle against evil." Blackarachnia's voice grew soft. "I don't even want to live. Not without Silverbolt. Why couldn't I die with him?"

"You've only lost one, but I've lost my entire planet's inhabitants," Depth Charge told her. "You're right in what you said earlier, about me. Rampage _should_ have destroyed me. How I wish he had. If I had died, I wouldn't have to relive the same pain everyday of my life. After the Omicron Massacre I didn't think I could live at all. But then I got to thinking, why _did_ I survive? I figured out that I had to bring in X."

"Silverbolt used to complain that you had no sense of duty," Blackarachnia said.

"Well he was wrong!" Depth Charge snapped. "I survived for justice. To bring in Rampage and make sure he never hurts another being. I have a _duty_ to stay alive even though I don't want to!" He was using desperate tones now. "And if I ever have the chance to kill him I will do it in a spark-beat. But one thing I have promised myself, that I will kill Rampage in the quickest way possible. I don't want to cause anybody extra pain. Not after the suffering I saw on Omicron." Depth Charge actually shuddered. The carnage that X had inflicted was something the manta-ray could never have dreamed in his worst nightmare.

"And, now Blackarachnia," Depth Charge told her, "just think about it. Silverbolt died, but you lived. _You_ have to carry on his legacy. _You_ have to be like him, just as I'll try to be like a true Omicron maximal."

"Is Optimus after me?" Blackarachnia asked, refusing to set her mind on Depth Charge's words.

"Last night he wanted to leave you alone. He figured you'd come back in the morning. When he hears that you're never intending to come back, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to bring you back by force."

"Don't tell him where I am."

Depth Charge nodded. Suddenly he looked as if he had woken out of a dream. The earnestness that had phased him for a few minutes was now utterly lost. He was back to his cold, angry, standoffish self. "Don't repeat a word I've said to anybody," he threatened. Then transforming into beast mode, Depth Charge flew away.

Blackarachnia had not sat on her own for five minutes before she saw something in the bushes. A wolf.

****************************************

Knight was feeling sick. He was so weak, and the awful ache had not left him. But perhaps the weakness came mostly from hunger. The other wolves were eating a small deer they had caught.

"Don't you want something?" Darkstar asked. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm famished," Knight said. But he felt strangely reluctant to eat that deer. He couldn't explain why. He just felt as if it were something he shouldn't do.

Darkstar shook his shaggy head. "I thought it would be this way. Come with me, Knight." The black wolf went over to Brent with his head and tail down in submission. "Brent, I'm taking Knight on a scout mission."

"Good," Brent growled. "I sent a scout out a while ago but he hasn't returned. Find him and bring him back."

Darkstar licked under the alpha wolf's jaw and walked back over to Knight. "Wolf talk," he explained to the puzzled newbie. "Licking or nipping under the jaw of a wolf says that you're _lower_ than that wolf. Licking or nipping a wolf's snout says that you're _higher_ than that wolf."

The two wolves set off at a steady lope. They were in some rocky terrain in a cliff-filled region, but as they ran the land turned greener, with woods, grass, and vines. Just before entering through the eaves of a dark-looking jungle, Darkstar motioned Knight into a hidden cavern. When one passed the cavern, it was made invisible by vines and bushes. From the cliffs above, it was hidden by a rock overhang. Knight wondered why it was so secretly hidden.

They entered the cave silently. Knight's eyes widened. The cave was filled with shining blue crystals of immense beauty. Darkstar went behind some crystals and stuck his snout into a little concave in the wall. He brought out something that looked similar to the crystals, but was cube-shaped and seemed be more like a transparent box of energy than a crystal. Energon. Stable energon.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Darkstar ate the crystal cube! Or at least that was what it looked like. The black wolf bent his face down to the bluish cube and it seemed to just melt into the wolf's body.

"Tasty," said Darkstar.

"Wha—what—what are you DOING?!" Knight exclaimed, fearful that Darkstar had lost his mind.

"Hey, it's okay," Darkstar said. "These are energon cubes. Try one." He threw a cube to Knight.

As strange as it was, Knight felt very comfortable eating the cubes. He consumed several. Then he felt full, the pain in his toes and back was gone, and he felt relatively happy. He smiled.

Darkstar barked a wolf laugh. "That's what a full stomach feels like! But make sure you don't tell anyone about this cave," he added quickly. "Brent doesn't like beasts which eat energon."

"Then why are we doing it?" exclaimed Knight. He suddenly felt an obligation to stand up for his leader. It seemed only the natural thing to do. "As difficult as Brent can be, is he not our chief? Should we not respect him? I, for one, shall prove worthy of his trust."

Darkstar stared, open-mouthed, at Knight, making the disfigured wolf feel quite awkward. Quizzically, Darkstar began, "How—that's impossible—" he broke off, looking at Knight the way a zoologist looks at a new species of animal. "I thought I deleted…but never mind." Darkstar smiled in a friendly manner, but there was a curious and troubled look behind his eyes. "And now," he said cheerily, "you and I can go find that missing scout. I picked up his scent so we should find him easily." Darkstar set off again with Knight at his side.


	4. Something She Will Regret

**4: Something She Will Regret**

Blackarachnia looked at the wolf scout with curiosity. It was thin and brown. Not at all like Silverbolt had been. But still, this canine reminded her of him. Its honest golden eyes resembled Silverbolt's. This made her upset and irate. She was still a naughty girl, she thought, raising her blaster and aiming for the wolf.

***

Darkstar, his fur glossy and bright in the morning sun, loped alongside Knight. Knight's coat was in nowhere close to the good shape companion's was in, but he didn't notice. Running along like this, open-mouthed like a dog running after a fetch-stick, Knight was happy. Almost happy—the ache deep in his chest remained.

Darkstar halted abruptly and sniffed the air. "You smell that?"

Knight stopped and thrust his noble silver snout into the air. "It smells strange… metallic, almost. And…" Knight hesitated to continue, because what he was about to say sounded so strange. "It smells familiar."

Darkstar whirled around and faced Knight with icy blue eyes. "No it doesn't!" he snapped. "You're imagining things."

"I suppose you could be right—"

"You're pretty straight I'm right! Now wherever this _new_ smell is coming from, our missing wolf scout is heading right toward it. Come."

Darkstar and Knight pressed onward until they saw a clearing ahead. The two wolves crouched in the bushes, not too close to the clearing, but where they could see into it. There, a few yards ahead of Knight and to the left, was the thin brown wolf, the missing scout. Within the clearing, holding a strange device, was the weirdest creature Knight had ever seen. She was metallic, brightly-colored with red and blue, and she stood on two legs.

"Ah—what a strange creature!" Knight exclaimed.

"Slag 'er," hissed Darkstar.

Knight did not know what that expression meant, but he was not listening anyway. "And yet…" he said, "…she is beautiful in her own way. Don't you think?"

"I think she's a murderer," Darkstar snarled.

Suddenly there was a fiery blast from the creature's odd device, and the thin brown wolf yelped and jumped a yard backwards. Howling in pain, it dropped to the ground. Its legs and head jerked convulsively.

Knight stared in horror. What had the strange creature done? It was several seconds before the silver wolf snapped out of his stunned state and felt Darkstar nudging him.

"What are you waiting for, let's beat it!" Darkstar growled. "Do want _that_ to happen to you?"

The pair of wolves retreated into the forest. Knight had not run ten yards before he sighed and turned around. This shocked Darkstar. Knight knew it would make the black wolf angry, but he felt this was something he had to do. It concerned honor, and honor was not something a knight could ignore. The dirty silver wolf ran back to the clearing.

***

Blackarachnia sat down on the ground again after getting rid of the wolf. Then suddenly, she heard leaves rustling; something was running her way. A dirty, beat-up wolf ran almost right up to her. She stared in shock. Wolves don't just run up to Cybertronian bots like that, right? She stood where she was and looked hatefully down at the vicious monster.

***

Knight stood his ground and glared up at the murderous creature. "Ma'am," he said, in wolf language, "you had no cause to deprive our scout of life. He was innocent, and I will _not_ stand for the murdering of innocent creatures! Stop looking at me like that and start talking. Do you have nothing to say for your vicious conduct? You _killed_ him! Why? What had he ever done to you?!"

***

"Down, doggy," Blackarachnia kept muttering. She was sure now that the wolf was crazy. He just stood there on all fours and barked, snarled, and roared as if he were giving a lecture. Blackarachnia loaded her blaster-gun again.

***

At the clicking sound of the creature's strange device, which she had used to kill the other wolf, Knight knew it was time to run. So he did. He met up with Darkstar in the forest, and they wordlessly retreated. Darkstar was angry, and silent; he didn't even ask what Knight had been doing.

The twosome of canines found Brent and the pack just where they had left them. Darkstar reported the news to the alpha wolf, but he failed to mention Knight's heroic stand for justice.

"Darkstar, you idiot!" Brent snarled. "If you smell anything metallic, you RUN. Don't go right towards it. You're lessening our numbers. Esca was a great scout, thin and swift, and brown to match with the tree-trunks. It's your fault he died!"

"Please accept my humble apologies," Darkstar answered, with surprising earnestness.

"Now," Brent said. "Knight, I want more meat for the pack before we set off on the yearly circle of our territory. See if you can smell or spy any ungulates. If you find something, report back here and I'll set up a hunting party. Don't try and be a hero."

Knight nodded solemnly.

"And please don't get into trouble," Darkstar added, though it seemed more of a threat than a concerned request.

Knight took off again. It seemed this was all he had been doing since he joined the wolves: going on scout missions, running, hunting, running again—always active. _The life of a wolf_, he thought.

Soon he stopped in a pleasant glade. It was so tempting to just lie down in the soft moss, basking in the strange green light which came through the leaves and painted abstract patterns on the forest floor. Every detail of the forest—the leaves, the moss, the unusual shapes of the branches—was wonderful.

A breeze came whizzing through the treetops, then Knight caught a whiff of something. Metal. He heard the leaves rustling on the forest floor. It was that strange creature again, the murderer who killed the wolf scout. Knight turned and ran. To his horror, the footsteps behind him went at a faster pace as well—the creature was following him.

***

Blackarachnia wished again she were killed alongside Silverbolt. If she were not here, then she would not have been angry and selfish enough to kill that poor wolf. She regretted it now, more for Silverbolt's sake than for her own. But the fact was that she had to make it up to these wolves, to show them that she was sorry. Somehow. Now she was again running through the jungley area, exerting herself and trying to keep up with that mad, dirty wolf. Blackarachnia transformed into beast mode to acquire extra speed.

***

Knight ran back to Brent with his eyes wide in fear. "She's following me!" he howled in terror.

"Who?" Brent demanded.

"That creature! The one who killed our scout," Knight replied breathlessly.

"What?!" Darkstar materialized at Knight's side again. "Those creatures don't run to us. They don't like us. Some are even afraid of us. There's no reason she'd come after you."

"Unless she wanted to kill us all," Brent snarled. He glared menacingly at Knight. "Excellent job, insipid fool! You've led that thing right to us!"

Knight bowed his head in shame. "What can I do?" he asked humbly.

Brent gasped and jumped a yard backward in shock. All the wolves gathered around him, whining and whimpering like puppies. A huge, brightly-colored, metal spider had just run into sight.

"What do we do? What do we do?" the wolves all asked. Knight was anxious too. He needed orders before he could act, so he looked up at the brawny Brent. No help from there, Knight thought, seeing the alpha wolf in a dumb, stunned standstill.

It was his turn to act. Knight jumped forward, growling, with a fierce snarl on his face. This caused the big spider to stop. The dirty scarred wolf took advantage of this. "Wolves, to my side!" he ordered. "Darkstar, and you two strong-looking ones, come on! We've got to defend the pack!"

Darkstar and the two other wolves leapt forward to Knight's side. A rallied militia of fierce beasts, snarling and strong they were. One of the four wolves howled and made a jump at the big spider.

The spider had sharp, metal leg-tips like knives. As the wolf came on, she slashed viciously with this tentacle and knocked the wolf to the ground. Darkstar went next, leaping up and sailing towards the deadly arachnid. The metal spider caught him between two of her plentiful legs and threw him into the air. He fell behind a boulder with a whimper.

At this the other wolf whined and turned tail, leaving Knight alone. _The last defense_, he thought. _It's up to me_. He hated having to fight this strange creature because of his respect for all living things—and the fact that he thought the spider was strikingly beautiful. Knight roared, showing keen canine teeth. He circled the spider warily, and then jumped.

Knight caught one of her deadly tentacles in his mouth, and shook his head back and forth violently. Now he had her in his power, swinging her around by her leg.

_Click, boom, Whoosh_! A fiery missile came from somewhere and hit the spider square on the head. Knight dropped the arachnid's limp leg out of his mouth, like a dog dropping a chew toy. _What was that sound_? he wondered.

Darkstar, walking slightly off-balance from his unpleasant fall, came over to Knight. "What was that blast?" he asked. "Oh, never mind. Tell me later. Now we've got unfinished business."

Knight, still panting from the fight, began to feel dizzy. He tried hard to focus on Darkstar, or to spot Brent and the pack. But he could not concentrate on anything. It was that horrible ache in his chest again. Pain pulsated through his body and drained his energy.

Darkstar looked concernedly at his companion. "Knight, you hurt? Answer me!"

Knight reeled over and fell on the ground, unconscious.


	5. Knight to the Rescue

**5: Knight to the Rescue**

"Uh…uh…" Knight awoke to darkness both in his mind and in the world around him. It was night. He liked night. But the darkness in his mind was something unbearable. No memory. No friends. Wait, what about Darkstar and Brent? Hope returned, and Knight stood up.

It was an unpleasant scene into which he awakened. Darkstar was there, ruthlessly attacking the big spider which was lying unconscious. His teeth were, strangely, not damaged by the hard metal, as he bit and ripped with them.

"That's enough," said Brent. "I hate being here while _that thing_ is around. We have to run. More of these creatures might come."

"Which is why we have to put a dent in their numbers," Darkstar said. He growled out of the corners of his mouth as he ripped a long piece of metal off the spider. The arachnid made a noise. It was far too weak to yell; it just moaned softly. "Grr-arrrr!" Darkstar raked his large paws across the spider's body, making the terrible squeaky sound of claws against metal, and leaving long scratch-marks.

Knight's heart went out to the poor creature. "Stop this," he snapped, startling Brent, Darkstar, and all the wolves present. "Halt this outrage at once! This is uncalled for revenge; what we are doing to this creature is no less wrong than what she did to us! Am I right?"

"No!" snapped Darkstar. He jumped on the spider, adding height to himself so he could stand above Knight. "This creature has to die. And it'll be a slow death, because I have not the tools to do it otherwise." Darkstar ripped into the metal and mech fluid spilled out.

"You disgusting abomination!" Knight roared, head-butting Darkstar off the spider's battered body.

Darkstar was on his feet again in an instant. "So, it's a fight you want, it is?"

"If I have to resort to violence to defend the innocent, so be it!" Knight huffed.

"You're dead meat," Brent laughed.

***

"Now what is he up to?" Depth Charge stood behind a large rock, watching the large, sturdy figure of Megatron. The Transmetal Tyrannosaurus-rex was investigating a flat plateau which was all flat rocks; there was not a sight of grass or soil. Large boulders surrounded the clear, barren area in which the predacon leader stood, and it was behind one of these stones that Depth Charge was hiding.

_Good. Megatron's the perfect target_. Depth Charge needed something to fight tonight. After that grueling, painful talk with the spider woman, he needed some cheering up. _The spider woman. Mm, poor kid. She's getting a taste of what I have to go through everyday. It's a pity. _

Depth Charge threw a pebble at Megatron's back and then took out his gun.

The purple dinosaur whirled around. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Depth Charge came into plain view, his blaster aimed for Megatron's head. "Aw, what's wrong?" he asked coolly. "Out here at night, all alone? You poor thing." He fired.

Megatron was unprepared. There was no way he could doge it.

"Oof!" Depth Charge was thrown to the ground as the earth reeled under him. It was as if the world suddenly lost all balance—gravity and forces had gone astray. This also caused the Ray-bot's missile to go completely off-course and miss its target.

Megatron kept his footing, as if used to this gravity-disordered situation. Quickly transforming into robot mode, he powered up his gun. That infamous evil, playful smile crossed his face as he stood over Depth Charge.

"Ah, nice try you senseless little fish, yesss," Megatron laughed. "But let me show you how it is really done—this is not a good night for tyros."

Depth Charge rolled out of the way just as Megatron released his fire. Depth Charge sprang to his feet, grabbed Megatron's shoulders, and flipped him over. "Not a good night for tyros—my thoughts exactly," Depth Charge panted, holding his blaster at the ready.

Megatron roared as he kicked Depth Charge's legs, making him fall over. The T-rex robot once again held his opponent at gunpoint.

"This was fun at first, but now it's getting a little redundant," the warrior ray remarked. "What is a tyro, anyway? Oh never mind. Just tell me this: have you ever had an energon sandwich?"

"This stalling is beneath you, Depth Charge," Megatron replied coolly.

"Oh, but I'm not stalling at all!" Depth Charge objected. "I just wanted to know if an energon sandwich tastes anything like a knuckle sandwich!!!" Depth Charge punched Megatron with impressive force, knocking the saurian flat on his face.

In a moment he tottered to his feet, returned to beast mode, and took off.

"Catcha later, plum-noggin," Depth Charge said. He watched Megatron's figure until it disappeared into the dark sky. "Well…why on earth would he be out here now, and by himself, too?" the ray-bot pondered. "And what's up with this gravitational junk? I bet Rhinox could explain it, computer _geek_ that he is."

"You're not going back to the base until you tell me what you know," said a familiar voice.

Depth Charge readied his weapon. "Ah!" he cried sharply, as the weapon was shot from his hand. The ray-bot looked around for an enemy, but could see nothing. "Come out and fight! You gonna be a coward?"

"Depends. How much will you tell me without seeing me?"

"Not much," said Depth Charge.

"Okay then." He stepped out.

****************************************

Meanwhile… "Ugn!" Knight was thrown to the ground, winded. Darkstar stood over him with a sneer. Brent and the other wolves watched anxiously.

"Now let that teach you to remember your rank in this pack," Darkstar panted. "Leave me alone and let me destroy this inferior pile of metal!" He snarled in the direction of the spider, but to his surprise, found that the creature was conscious, and was moving slowly away.

"See? It's retreating!" Knight said when he had recovered his breath. "Leave it alone." Knight felt suddenly strong, but he could not remember why. Then he realized: it was because that unbearable pain in his chest had for a moment lifted. For the first time since he had been with Brent's pack, Knight was free. Darkstar noticed the change and seemed interested, but he said nothing. Brent looked at Knight also.

"Guide the spider out of camp," Brent ordered, assuming his authority again.

"Brent, sir, I really must object," Darkstar said quickly. "It would be a sens—"

"_I'm_ in charge!" Brent roared. "Darkstar, you shut up. Knight, we're going ahead and starting on our journey. You make sure that spider does not follow us until we are out of sight, then when it passes out, you go after us. Understood?"

"Affirmative," Knight replied, happy to be by the wounded creature's side.

***

She didn't know what hit her. One moment, Blackarachnia was following the disfigured wolf, and the next, four of the snarling animals were upon her. She didn't like to hurt them—they reminded her so much of Silverbolt, and she had come to make peace with them. Nevertheless, she had to defend herself.

It was going well until that dirty silver wolf jumped into action, and then came the gunshot. Blackarachnia had been fighting in the Beast Wars long enough to know what was a robot's gunfire and what wasn't. She blacked out and the waking was horrible. There was a black wolf that almost killed her.

Now, Blackarachnia crawled as far away from the beasts as she could. It was extremely relieving that the black wolf and most of the others had gone away, but that dirty wolf was still here, watching her.

She was too weak to turn her spider head and look at him; she could only crawl, stop to gather her strength, and crawl again. She blacked out more than once. That wolf wouldn't leave her alone. "Please…go on," she murmured weakly. "Go find your friends. Leave me alone."

***

Brent and the pack were son lost to view, and Knight knew it was time to part with the spider. He knew she was hurt, but orders were orders, and he had stalled long enough.

The spider had fainted several times, and the last time Knight thought she was dead. He was cuddled up next to her as he had seen Brent do to injured wolves, to pass some warmth into the hurt animal's body. But now, it was time to go.

Knight rose. One of the spider's legs shot out and wrapped around his back paw.

"Please, don't go," Blackarachnia whispered, though she knew the wolf would not understand.

Knight had to communicate with her somehow, to tell her that he was leaving. He did not know where the word came from, but he said, "Goodbye."

Blackarachnia gaped. Had that wolf just…_talked_? She forced her head up to look at the wolf, but she went out cold again.

Knight was just as shocked as she was. What had he said? _Oh well, time to follow Brent_, he remembered. The disfigured wolf loped off into the night, not without turning his head and looking back several times.


	6. A Lie of Love

**6: A Lie of Love**

Cheetor. It was only Cheetor. Depth Charge felt stupid for not recognizing the cat's voice earlier. _But why did he shoot the weapon out of my hand?_ the manta-ray wondered. This thought aroused suspicion.

"Well," said Cheetor in a menacing voice, "ya gonna talk?"

"What's with the shooting?" Depth Charge demanded in a coarse voice. "I just chased off Megatron; there's bound to be more of his stinking sidekicks around here. I might need my weapon."

"Sorry," said Cheetor. "It was just in case you're in a bad mood."

"Hmm," Depth Charge half-smiled. So the kid knew not to mess with him when he was in a bad temper. That was good.

"So…where is she?" Cheetor asked. "Optimus and I have been looking for her since this morning."

Depth Charge remembered his promise to Blackarachnia. He would not tell the maximals where she was. "Look kid, I've got things to do," said Depth Charge smoothly, turning his back on Cheetor and beginning to walk away. "You, make yourself useful and go chase a mouse."

"So what now? You're just gonna walk off?!" Cheetor exclaimed. "Oh no, you're _not_ gonna shine me again!"

"Says who?" asked Depth Charge without turning.

"Turn around!"

This time, Depth Charge thought he should obey. He had never heard Cheetor use a voice so heated or hostile before, and it was somewhat shocking. The marine-bot whirled around to face the Transmetal 2 cat.

"Don't you _dare_ move," Cheetor threatened, his powerful gun aimed at Depth Charge.

"Whoa, whoa, keep your cool, kid," Depth Charge directed, trying to keep his voice steady as he raised his hands in the air.

"Tch!" Cheetor hissed like an upset cat. "They STILL call me a kid!"

Depth Charge shot a side-glance at his weapon, which lay a couple feet away.

"Don't move," Cheetor repeated, catching the ray-bot's look. "Just tell me where she is. I'll shoot!"

"Trust me, you don't wanna do that," Depth Charge told him.

"And why not?" Cheetor asked, ever so lightly tapping the trigger with his finger.

"Because…I wouldn't want something to happen to you," Depth Charge went on coolly. "Something like…this!!" As he spoke, he took his whip (which was his tail in beast mode) and lashed it out. The weapon coiled around Cheetor's legs and the felid fell to the ground, firing his gun as he went.

Depth Charge ducked the shot easily, went over and wrenched the gun from the adolescent's grasp, and threw it yards away. The manta-ray robot threw his whip as well. "There," he said, "we're both unarmed and we can talk."

Cheetor stood up. "I'll ask you again: where is she?"

Depth Charge smiled. "Who?"

"Stop stalling! I mean Blackarachnia! You know where she is, and you're gonna tell me!" Cheetor shouted. "And don't think you can just fly away, cuz I'm Transmetal 2, and I can keep up with you. I stand just as much a chance as you do if we fight—because I'm a Transmetal 2." His voice and face softened. "Please. I have to know. I'm…worried."

"Hmm…" Depth charge pondered. "Uh, negative. I don't where she is."

"Yes you do, you filthy liar!" Cheetor shouted. "Why else are you carrying those energon cubes? We both know they're not for _you_!" Cheetor jumped at the other maximal. He whacked Depth Charge right in the face, and then kicked his feet from under him.

Depth Charge, losing his balance, fell to the ground with a grunt. He got up quickly, only to be caught by the neck by the Transmetal 2 cat. Thinking quickly, Depth Charge kicked Cheetor in the stomach, making him reel back several paces. The manta-ray charged at his adversary, but the crafty cat caught his wrists and flipped him over, sending him sprawling on the ground. Not waiting for Depth Charge to rise, Cheetor tackled him.

They struggled until Cheetor was on the top, punching for all he was worth until Depth Charge settled down. Then both pairs of flaming red eyes met. Depth Charge was smiling. Cheetor wondered why, when he felt something cold touching his throat. Of course: the ray-bot always carried an energon knife with him in case he got the chance to use it on Rampage.

"Let me up," Depth Charge ordered, holding the weapon at the ready.

Cheetor obeyed wordlessly.

"Now scat, cat!" The manta-ray snapped, motioning with his knife. "I don't know where Blackarachnia is, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you, amateur. Besides, it's none of your business what I do with my energon!"

Cheetor gave him a defiant glance that spoke of death. He _had_ to know where she was! Depth Charge _did_ know; he could sense it.

"Well, get going!" Depth Charge exclaimed impatiently.

Resentfully, Cheetor took off. Depth Charge sighed in relief. _Kid's out of his mind_, he thought. _Well, guess that solves that. Can't go back to base 'cuz the maximals will all be feeling sorry for that nose-wiping waif. Well, I've got lots of energon. Blackarachnia could use some._

Convincing himself that the energon was not originally intended for Blackarachnia (which it was), Depth Charge transformed into Beast Mode and flew into the distance as the sun rose. He wondered again at the plateau's gravitational disorder.

Depth Charge went to the clearing in the forest where he had last seen Blackarachnia. She was nowhere in sight. This was somewhat surprising, because from the way the spider woman had talked, it sounded like she intended to stay there. Soaring over the woods and then over the rocky cliff terrain, the flying ray looked for her. He refused to think about why it mattered to him if she were dead alive; he knew if he started thinking about it would make him drop the idea of finding her.

He stopped in midair, shocked. Was that Blackarachnia, out cold among the rocks? He could not tell from this angle, so he soared downward. It was her, Depth Charge realized as he alighted on the ground and transformed into robot mode. It was early morning, and the rocks played tricks on his eyes. But Blackarachnia was no trick—she was real, in robot mode, and she looked like she could be offline.

Suddenly flooded with concern, Depth Charge ran over to her and took a closer look. She was badly damaged. Something did this: a wild animal perhaps—but what animal could bite through metal? Several of her spider legs were scattered on the ground, and she had claw-marks on her. Depth Charge sat on the ground, and found that she was still alive. He got ready to pick her up, but after he touched her he quickly withdrew his hand. It was covered with mech fluid. Blackarachnia could go offline at any minute, he knew. It surprised Depth Charge that he was disturbed. Again he bent down and this time was successful in lifting Blackarachnia up.

***

Somehow Blackarachnia had managed to transform into robot mode between the intervals of fainting and crawling. She was weak and half-conscious, but felt a little revived when strong, warm arms lifted her off the ground.

"Silverbolt?" Blackarachnia murmured, reaching her hand up and touching the face of whoever was carrying her. "Silverbolt…oh, I missed you. They all said you were dead. I didn't believe them…. Silverbolt…"

A harsh voice cut through her reverie. "No; it's Depth Charge," the voice came. "How do you feel? Can you make it if we fly?"

"Fly…" Blackarachnia muttered unconsciously. "Silverbolt used to fly me places. We had such nice rides—"

"Silverbolt's not here!" Depth Charge snapped, upset at seeing Blackarachnia so changed. She wasn't cool and tough anymore; she was dying and speaking strange thoughts out loud. It was alarming Depth Charge in the extreme—many of his Omicron friends had talked like this before death. "I'll fly you back to base," Depth Charge told Blackarachnia as softly as his rough voice would allow. "Back to Optimus and Cheetor. Your friends."

Blackarachnia jerked her head up upon sudden recollection. "No! Don't…don't take me back there. That's where _he_ lived. That's where _his_ room his. That's where they talk about _him_." She started to cry. "Don't take me back."

"Then what am I supposed to do!?" Depth Charge exclaimed, almost crying himself in uncertainty. "You need the CR chamber or you're going to die."

"Die…yes…then I can be with Silverbolt." Blackarachnia looked slightly pleased.

"You _want_ to die?" Depth Charge choked. No! He was not going to let that happen! She couldn't just die in his arms like this, when she had so many reasons to live. Suddenly he remembered the energon cubes he had brought. "Blackarachnia, listen to me. You _have_ to take this energon. It'll keep you alive until we get you fixed."

Blackarachnia refused, and using force might snuff out whatever life was still left in her. Depth Charge thought of something—it would bring her pain later, but it would at least keep her alive. "Blackarachnia, you were right. Silverbolt _is_ alive," Depth Charge lied desperately. "You _have_ to stay alive for him."

"W-where is he?" Blackarachnia demanded, struggling to get free of his grasp. She remembered the energon cubes, and consumed them as fast as she could. The strength evidently did her circuits some good, for she went instantly into stasis lock and started self-repairs.

The relief was so great that Depth Charge sighed out loud more than once. He knew the spider's self repair would fix her up. Soon she would come out of stasis lock and be alone just like she wanted to be—away from the world and everyone in it. She would be safe…safe until that metal-ripping creature came by again. Depth Charge thought it would be better to stay with her till she woke up.

***

"Hmm…Darkstar, do you smell that?" Knight asked. It was almost noon, and he had long since caught up with Darkstar, Brent, and the pack. But now his nose had caught a slight, far-off whiff of something familiar. "Energon," he said.

"You're right," Darkstar agreed, sniffing the air. "I want some more. Brent wants me to stay by him, but you can go find the energon and tell me where it is."

"I'll inform Brent that I'm off," said Knight.

"Uh, no—how about you don't," suggested Darkstar. "A pleasure run can't hurt you. It can't hurt the pack."

After last night's battle, Knight was in no mood or condition to challenge the black wolf's authority. He trotted out of sight, following his nose.

***

Depth Charge was relieved when Blackarachnia revived. She immediately remembered her encounter with the wolves. One of the wolves had talked. How much of _that_ had been a dream? The spider lady remembered how hurt she had been last night. She remained silent with burning embarrassment. How she hated being seen in such a helpless state! Blackarachnia could not remember word-for- word what she said in her half-conscious condition and she shuddered to think what Depth Charge might have heard.

She looked at herself. "Transmetal 2 technology certainly upgrades self-repair circuitry, doesn't it?" she asked, playing it cool.

"You didn't look so good earlier, though," Depth Charge remarked.

"Well, you don't look too hot either, fish stuff," Blackarachnia replied, seeing the ray-bot's insignificant but painful damage left over from his fight with Cheetor.

Suddenly the memory came back to Blackarachnia of Depth Charge telling her that Silverbolt was alive. She asked where he was, but had already guessed that it was a lie.

"You tricked me, Depth Charge!" Blackarachnia hissed upon receiving his answer. "I might have fallen for it when I was dying, but I'm not falling for it now! How long did you plan to keep this up, using me as puppet by convincing me that he was alive? Don't you know how much that hurts?! You unfeeling beast!"

"No. I wasn't using you. I was keeping you alive, and you better thank me for it!" Depth Charge retorted.

Lost to words in her anger, the spider lady ran off into the woods again.

"Fine, run away!" Depth Charge shouted. "But don't go getting yourself ripped up again; I can't always save your hide!"


	7. Friendships

Once again, Knight was distracted while running through the forest. He found a river, and rinsed himself off, then drew back and looked at his reflection. He liked it. Strong, noble, sleek, and silver. The only things wrong were the scars on his shoulders his wrongly-colored, cut-short front toes, and the fact that he had no tail.

Knight had found the source of the energon smell: a rocky place between some boulders close to where he had left the big spider. _So_, he thought, _the spider must have consumed some energon. That means she is alive_. With some hesitation, Knight made up his mind to track her down; he was curious and needed to be sure that she was okay. Besides, Brent had promoted him to official tracker and scout.

The thing that puzzled Knight the most about his encounter with the spider was that he had spoken to her. He had said something in her language—she understood him, or else she would not have looked so surprised. Could Knight say anything else? Could he talk to her? He had to know.

While he was absent-mindedly thinking about this, Knight stumbled upon the creature he was tracking. Caught by surprise, the silver wolf jumped back several steps, landing with a loud noise in a pile of dried leaves.

Blackarachnia turned and saw the wolf, and stared at it for some time. Knight looked at the spider—she seemed totally different than she had last night. Now she was upright on two legs, just like she had been when she shot the brown wolf. This made Knight nervous for a second, but only a second. For the ever-present, unexplained soreness in his chest lifted when he looked at her. He thought again that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. So they both stared at each other.

Then the spider-girl started acting weird. She looked upset and some liquid was coming from her eyes. Then Knight remembered—he had seen this emotion before. It was called crying. _You do it when you're sad_. Knight was ashamed: just looking at him made the spider-girl sad?

Knight started to walk away with his head down. It made him depressed to leave the spider, and as soon as he thought about it the mysterious pain came back to him, so sharply it made him yelp and fall down.

Blackarachnia ran over to the fallen wolf; she was still crying. It was because this silver wolf—it reminded her so much of Silverbolt. The golden eyes were just the same as his. The spider woman pulled herself together and recognized this wolf as the one she had seen last night. She wondered if it could talk, or if that was her imagination.

"Are you alright?" Blackarachnia asked the wolf.

Knight found that he could understand her. He struggled to find words—real words, not expressions, grunts, and growls. "Y-yes," he said with some difficulty. "At least, I think I can survive."

Blackarachnia stared at the wolf, open-mouthed. She looked like she might cry again.

"What? What have I said?" Knight asked quickly.

"Nothing—it's just…your voice. It sounds like my best friend used to," said Blackarachnia, still hardly believing that she was talking to a wolf.

"Your best friend? He sounds like me?" Knight asked, interested.

"He used to," Blackarachnia answered, her voice going off-key. "But he's not alive now. Now I don't have any friends."

"You don't have a pack?" Knight exclaimed incredulously. Without friends and a pack to stay with, how could anyone survive? "I'll be your friend," Knight stated, not knowing where the thought came from. "But Darkstar and Brent won't like it. You are, after all, a different creature."

Blackarachnia looked at the wolf in perplexity. Was her mind playing tricks on her? The way the wolf had just talked reminded her of a similar line. _You are, after all, a predacon_. "What's your name?" Blackarachnia asked, daring to hope a little.

"I am Knight," replied the silver wolf. "It would please me to know your name."

"I'm Blackarachnia," the Transmetal 2 spider said in disappointment. So, this wolf was not Silverbolt, but he was a friend. "Will you—will you meet me here again, Knight?" she asked.

"Of course; it would be an honor," Knight replied. They parted and both felt considerably better. The pain was still there for Knight, but it had lessened. He felt pleased—no, overjoyed—that he would see the spider woman again.

***

Cheetor returned to the Transformer's arc (currently the maximal base), too angry and upset to talk to anyone. The base seemed so empty without Silverbolt and Blackarachnia. When Silverbolt was not out tracking and scouting, he would sit at the computers with Rhinox and actually get the big old grump to talk. Their conversations were always fun to spy on, because Rhinox was normally so quiet. To hear him talking openly to the bird-dog was a rare experience. Rhinox talked about random things—his favorite kind of oil to drink, places on Cybertron he liked, computers on Cybertron he liked, sometimes even girls on Cybertron he liked. But now, Rhinox was quiet.

Blackarachnia was not fighting with Rattrap or engaging in long conversations with Silverbolt, which she had grown to like doing. Hey, it was even lonely without Depth Charge, who had recently been hanging around the base doing nothing but watching the monitors for any sign of Rampage. Cheetor felt alone.

"Did you find Depth Charge?" Optimus asked. When Cheetor did not answer, the maximal leader looked at him and noticed he was slightly damaged. "I didn't mean for things to get violent," he said with disappointment. "But I suppose you had to beat the answers out of Depth Charge."

"He still didn't tell me where Blackarachnia is," Cheetor answered angrily. "I had to fall back cuz he pulled an energon knife on me." He caught Optimus' shocked expression and added, "I didn't get hurt or anything. Besides, I'm Transmetal 2 now; I have the most advanced self-repair circuitry."

"That doesn't make me worry any less," Optimus said. "I'll find him myself tomorrow. Last time we had a little…serious talk and I managed to get things out of him. Funny how Depth Charge always seems to overhear the things _we_ have to know about."

Optimus turned towards his quarters, and jumped in surprise when he saw Depth Charge, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "Funny how I always overhear," he said.

"Where's Blackarachnia!?" Cheetor demanded with aggressiveness in his voice.

"You're right; I _do_ know where Blackarachnia is, or at least where she was earlier today," Depth Charge admitted. "I'll think about telling you if you tell me this: _why_ are you asking about her? With your computers you can pick up maximal signatures, right?"

"We're having some, uh…technical difficulties," Optimus explained. "Teletraan1 doesn't work for us, and, as you know all too well, we lost Sentinel. What other small computer programs we've salvaged from the _Axalon_ are unreliable. A couple nights ago—actually, the night after we lost Silverbolt—something attacked and on purpose messed up our tracking devices."

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Cheetor asked, more to himself than to Optimus. "Was it some predacon?"

"I don't know," Optimus sighed. "But it seems unlikely that the predacons would _only_ attack the tracking program—more specifically, that they would attack that _area_ of the tracking program which allows us to scan maximal signatures. I've asked Rhinox to tamper around with the computer and try to figure something out. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever did this was no predacon."

"Still, it could be. Could be Megatron," Cheetor suggested. "Depth Charge fought him last night."

"He was alone on a strange plateau, where gravity seems to be disoriented," Depth Charge explained. "I don't know what he was doing, but…I have to say Optimus has a point."

"About what?" the maximal leader asked.

"About the attacker _not_ being a predacon. Lately I've sensed someone out there." Depth Charge did not say the other part out loud: the strange feeling that whoever he sensed was from Omicron. But that was impossible! Every Omicron citizen was dead excepting himself.

"It's just a fluke, maybe," Depth Charge said. He changed the subject. "Blackarachnia has changed since Silverbolt died. She says she doesn't want to live anymore. Made me promise not to tell you guys where she was. She _is_ gonna die if she doesn't start taking care of herself. Got pretty ripped up the other night."

"What?!" Cheetor exclaimed, suddenly full of worry. "Is she okay?"

"Thanks to me," said Depth Charge. "But what's puzzling me is what could have done that to her. No wild animal can bite through metal like that."

Cheetor shuddered involuntarily. "How can she be okay if she was that bad?"

"She has Transmetal 2 self-repair technology of the most advanced kind," Depth Charge said.

"That doesn't make me worry any less," Cheetor remarked. He realized what he had said and there was an awkward silence. "Please tell us where she is," he muttered.

"I'll think about it," Depth Charge replied.


	8. The Madness of Love

**8: The Madness of Love**

It was the fifth day since Silverbolt had died; Blackarachnia could not stop herself from counting. She was a little puzzled right now—she knew his death would hurt her emotionally…but physically? Lately, she had a horrible pain in her chest which had been unnoticeable the first few days because of her emotional pain. Now that she was not crying every ten minutes, she could feel the pain.

Yesterday had been terrible: it was the day Depth Charge had rescued her just for the sake of lying to her and hearing her most private thoughts. Today, however, had been a good day for her, because she had had no time to think about Silverbolt. She had spent the whole day hiding and running from the maximals which were trying to find her.

That treacherous aqua-bot Depth Charge had broken his promise and told everybody where she was. This fact, of course, did not cause as much anger in her as confusion. Depth Charge told Optimus where Blackarachnia was, but why? It was not like Depth Charge could be _that_ worried about her! He never got close to anyone. He was afraid Rampage might end up killing anyone he dared call a friend.

Now Blackarachnia was at the promised rendezvous point to meet Knight. The disfigured wolf was punctual. Blackarachnia marveled again at Knight's similarity to Silverbolt's beast mode. Those noble, golden dog eyes were his, as was the dignified way he carried himself. These features almost made up for the fact that Knight was tail-less, had disfigured toes, and scars on his back. Blackarachnia could not help thinking that if there were big, soft wings in place of those scars, talons in place of those disfigured toes, and a tuft of eagle's tail-feathers for a tail, Knight would look exactly like Silverbolt. Was this Knight wolf a figment of her imagination, just a dream that Silverbolt might possibly be alive?

"Knight," Blackarachnia began, "you've seen how I can change form from a spider to a robot. Can, uh…can you do that?"

"Change form?" Knight asked in surprise. "I don't know; I've never tried. What do I say?"

"You say: 'maximize'," Blackarachnia instructed. "But it…it won't work without a certain other word. Why don't you say: 'Silverbolt, Maximize'?"

"Silverbolt, maximize!" Knight ordered. He was surprised with how much ease and familiarity the words rolled off his tongue. But nothing happened; he did not change. This was awfully crushing for Blackarachnia, and she made him try many more times. It was of no avail.

"Sla—" Blackarachnia began. Silverbolt wouldn't want her to lose her temper and start saying a bunch of bad words. She shut herself up. But she was not ready to give up on Knight yet. "Don't you remember anything, Knight?" she asked. "How long have you been with your wolf pack?"

"Not long," Knight answered. "Only a night and four days."

_A night and four days_! Silverbolt had died exactly five days ago! It was _too_ close to be a coincidence! Blackarachnia could not stand this. Knight had told her that he had no memory at all beyond these last four days, and the suspense was driving her mad. Could this be Silverbolt? No. It was impossible!

"I have to go," the spider-lady said, keeping her cool. "Catcha later." She paused before walking off. "I _will_ catcha later, won't I?"

"Of course! I couldn't stand it any other way!" Knight exclaimed. It seemed like he had always been next to this Blackarachnia person, and he loved being with her. Or maybe he just loved her.

Blackarachnia involuntarily sighed with relief. Knight was her mind's preoccupation now; he filled her thoughts as she walked through the woods next to a rocky cliff-side.

Suddenly she whirled around and faced the cliff; a familiar laugh had come from up there somewhere. She saw him: Quickstrike. Why was he here? Blackarachnia nearly choked when she realized: this was the cliff that had the cavern in it where they had left Silverbolt's body. He always wanted to be left on the field of battle when he died, so they had respected his wishes and lain him in a little cave close to where the rockslide had been which had killed him. Now here was Quickstrike, messing around with her love's honorable place of death? No!

Blackarachnia took out her gun and fired, without taking time to aim well, at the predacon. Quickstrike jumped aside.

"Nice try there, sugar-bot!" he hollered. "Y'know, I hoped ya would give up on those stink'n maximals while you still had a pred command code, but since you crossed the Rubicon, you've made us predacons pretty angry! We don't care much for traitors!" He fired a blast of cyber-venom towards the spider.

Blackarachnia jumped out of the way; it was too close for comfort.

"No less crafty though, are ya, femme?" he shouted down at her. "Well, let's let the records speak: _every predacon traitor dies_! We got rid 'o that blasted dino-butt, and we didn't _have_ to kill your boyfriend: the rockslide did it for us! He he hee, hah ha ha!"

"You shut your scummy mouth!" Blackarachnia roared.

Quickstrike was still laughing. "Now it's your turn, traitor! In fact, I so dog-gone liked the idea of a kill'n rockslide that I think you deserve one, too! Happy Birthday!" The predacon fired numerously at a loose-lying pile of boulders. They began to fall. Quickstrike grinned and flew the coop.

A rockslide didn't bother Blackarachnia. Now, she could die. She could die alongside Silverbolt, just the way he had died—and they would be together again. She stood still as the boulders came rolling down.

A loud and vehement wolf-howl broke out, and suddenly Blackarachnia found herself knocked down by someone. The "someone" forced her onto his back and took off running. It was a wild ride; boulders and rocks were flying in every direction, whizzing sometimes only inches from their heads, and dust blinding them. Blackarachnia then felt a change of light as they entered a dark, shady cavern, out of the reach of the rockslide.

Knight was carrying her on his back. Panting, the silver wolf dropped her gently onto the ground. "Why didn't you move?" Knight asked, flabbergasted.

Blackarachnia did not answer the question. "You—you saved me!" she screamed, utterly incensed. "You idiot! You ruined it! I was supposed to die! Why did you have to come?!"

"It is my duty ma'am," the wolf replied, "as a knight, and as a heroic character."

Blackarachnia's jaw dropped. Impossible! That _was_ Silverbolt's voice; it was almost his exact line! She realized suddenly that she was in a cavern—the cavern where they had left Silverbolt's body! She looked around, but Silverbolt was not there.

There was a long silence.

"_You're_ Silverbolt," Blackarachnia exclaimed, trying not to cry. "You _are_—you have to be Silverbolt! It doesn't make any sense, but it's true! If you're not him, then his body would still be here. You're a transformer named Silverbolt!!! And now you can come back to the maximals with me and it'll be heaven!"

"Me? Silverbolt? A Transformer?" Knight asked incredulously. "I told you, my name is Knight, and I'm a wolf. I can't transform and I have no memory. And I can't leave my pack."

Blackarachnia stayed her joy. Of course. How could she convince Knight of his true identity? Maybe if she brought him to see all the maximals…yes, she would show him the maximals one by one, and then his memory would come back. But now she had to go; she had to tell Depth Charge that she had found Silverbolt, and that, ironically, the manta-ray's lie had come true!

"I'm sorry," said Blackarachnia. "You can be Knight if that's who you think you are. Will you meet me tonight, and see my friend Depth Charge?"

Still confused, Knight nodded.

Blackarachnia turned to go, but changed her mind. She had to know one more thing. "You may not accept your true identity yet, and I understand that. I took a long time in accepting mine. You don't remember yourself, but do you remember _me_?"

"I think I have always remembered you," Knight answered, surprising even himself by the words. "Blackarachnia—you're one of the only memories I have left to hold on to. I feel so…so complete when I'm with you. I just—I just want to be with you."

He laughed. "I know this feeling well. It's the feeling that binds all hearts and holds all memory—the connector. But I've forgotten its name."

"Its name is love," said Blackarachnia, and left.

***

Knight and Darkstar were on sentry duty, watching the land from on top of a hill while the rest of the pack got some sleep. The sun was setting and it painted the whole sky a wonderful orange color. Knight appreciated Darkstar's friendship with him; it was true, the black wolf's temper could get out of hand sometimes, but then, couldn't everybody's?

Darkstar began to talk. "Knight, you know that spider? The one that you insisted on rescuing? It's true; she was defenseless—but she was _not_ innocent. There's a balance between honor and duty—for instance, it is not honorable to strike a creature when it is helpless, but it is your duty to destroy the evil. That spider came here to kill us. She is one of many strange creatures called Transformers. They came to this planet and caused ruin."

"Ruin?" Knight asked. "The spider seemed irreproachable." He subconsciously sighed, thinking of her.

"No!" Darkstar snapped. "All robots…they only mean to do us wolves harm! They came to our planet and poisoned us with the foul air from their ships, killed us with their wars, burned our forests to ashes with their careless gunfire. You must never _ever_ mingle with them; you must never, _ever_ go back to them."

"I must never go _back_ to them?" Knight repeated.

"Yes," Darkstar smiled; "You were once one of them. You were hurt; somebody damaged you badly, as you can see from your disfiguration, and they also made it so you cannot transform. I do not know who did this—I know only that you were helpless. Brent wanted to kill you, but I insisted that you stay alive."

That was inconsistent, Knight thought. If Darkstar was allowed to spare _his_ life, then why was it wrong for Knight to spare Blackarachnia's? He thought this was conspicuous, but was too overwhelmed with other thoughts to take it completely in. If Knight himself was a Transformer, then Blackarachnia was right: he belonged with the Transformers. But if Darkstar was right, the robots were threatening evil-doers. Knight should consider himself lucky to be alive—Darkstar _should_ have killed him for his unremembered wrongs. It was all too confusing!

"Say—" Darkstar said, "let me ask you some things. You are in pain. Whenever I see you, you are fighting physical pain. Why? I made sure you were well."

"I don't know," Knight replied. "I think it's—heartache."

"_Physical_ heartache?" Darkstar pondered. "Hmm. Well, you have no memory of your past life. Yet, you seem to have a good deal of _noblese obligue_. Where do you get the obligation to be so noble?"

Knight thought. These two feelings had to have a root. But what _was_ that root, that connector? Knight felt if once he remembered that foundation, he would be free of pain and loss. He could not, however, remember it. "I don't know!" he repeated, exasperated.

"Never mind," Darkstar smiled. "Just keep this in your memory: you are indebted to me. So when I need your help with things, you help me. Okay?"

"I guess so…" Knight had the uncomfortable feeling that he was being _used_.


	9. The Vortex

**9: The Vortex**

"Depth Charge! You'll never believe it!" Blackarachnia panted, once she found him.

"You're right; I probably won't," said Depth Charge grumpily, but she could tell that he was happy to see her.

Blackarachnia stopped jumping around. She realized _she_ was glad to see _him_ too.

"The way you females are, I thought you would be angry at me, still," the ray-bot said. "Look, I'm sorry I lied."

"That's okay," Blackarachnia smiled, "because it wasn't a lie. Silverbolt _is _alive!"

Depth Charge looked at her in surprise. Wasn't it a little too soon to be joking about something like that? Blackarachnia stared back at him, and there was no joke in her eyes.

"Oh no, you're _serious_?" Depth Charge exclaimed. "Blackarachnia, I was relieved to see you alive today; but it's almost better to be dead than to lose your mind!"

"Lose my mind!?" Blackarachnia repeated, growing furious. "But it's true!"

"Stop it!" Depth Charge snapped. "I said I was sorry for lying, so stop making me feel guilty! Blackarachnia, it's impossible! Silverbolt died. You were there yourself, and so was I, Optimus, and Cheetor. We helped you drag him into the cave, where _he went offline._ We saw his spark go out of his body!"

"So?! Rhinox got Optimus' spark back," Blackarachnia said. "Maybe somebody got Silverbolt's! I'm telling you, he's alive. He's coming here in a minute, and you're gonna meet him. Then you'll see." She started running into the woods.

Depth Charge suddenly caught her by the hands and stopped her. To her surprise, he didn't let go. "Are you _crazy_?" he asked, deadly serious.

Blackarachnia's face fell. "Maybe I am. It doesn't make sense, does it? Maybe—maybe—I was dreaming."

"You're lucky," said Depth Charge. "After Omicron I didn't have wonderful reveries. I had nightmares. I still have 'em." He caught Blackarachnia's surprised expression, and looked away awkwardly. "You're the first person I've ever told. Well, that won't make them stop, I'm sure. I suffer everyday. …But that's obvious."

"Not really," Blackarachnia replied. "Most people think you're mean and cold rather than constantly in pain. Of course," Blackarachnia added quickly, "I don't think of you that way. I just have to be able to get into someone's character, and then I can understand them. Silverbolt taught me that. You really want friends, don't you?"

Depth Charge shook his head. "No. Anyone I befriend dies on me."

"You haven't tried, have you? Not since Omicron?" Blackarachnia pressed. "Maybe you should try again. It's actually pretty rare that one of us Beast Warriors die; we always have friends close by to protect us."

"And with Silverbolt gone, _you_ need protecting," Depth Charge said in a low voice.

"Do not!" Blackarachnia objected hastily. "What I need is to be left alone by all bots of both factions."

"Make ya a deal," Depth Charge said. "Let me keep check'n in on you, so long as you're out here away from base, and I'll try and be less closed-minded towards the maximals."

"Why?" Blackarachnia asked, puzzled.

Depth Charge half-smiled: an expression of exasperation and yet amusement. "Are you really gonna make me say it?" he asked. "I—I don't want you to…when I saw you earlier…well…it'd kill me if something were to hurt you…again. Like you said, if you can get into character, you understand another person's feelings."

Blackarachnia was no less shocked at what Depth Charge was saying than at what she was thinking. This was just what she needed: a friend that understood her, that understood what she was going through. She found herself still holding his hands and leaning on him. She rested her head against his chest.

Depth Charge put his arms loosely around her. He was shaking, his mind flashing scenes of what might happen, now that he had allowed himself to grow close to anyone. Rampage would find out, somehow. Then he would kill Blackarachnia. Slowly, painfully.

"Stop shaking," Blackarachnia said.

"Why?" Depth Charge asked gruffly.

"You make me nervous."

"Am I really that scary?"

Blackarachnia smiled. Looking over Depth Charge's shoulder, she spotted something in the bushes. Knight. Blackarachnia stared at the wolf. He was real. He wasn't a dream!

Blackarachnia suddenly realized what this might look like to Knight—what was she doing?! She broke away from Depth Charge, but it was too late. Knight was running off into the distance, looking heartbroken.

****************************************

Meanwhile, Cheetor was in his quarters, asleep in his bed with a smile on his face. Yes, he was smiling despite the ever-present unfairness of the world, as he would put it. Though Cheetor now looked a thousand times more mature than he first did when he came to this planet, the little smile he smiled was a child's. The Transmetal 2 cat was deep in a heavenly dream.

Actually, it was more of a memory than a dream. He remembered being in a beautiful deciduous forest, with golden sunlight filtering through between the leafy roof, and there was Air-razor. She was beautiful, calm, and serene, the great falcon of the forest, and Cheetor's female hero. Air-razor was like a mother, or a big sister, or even a teacher to Cheetor. Then Tigatron appeared, having walked on his stealthy cat paws into the gorgeous clearing. He transformed into robot mode, snuck up behind Air-razor, and gently put his arms around her. She turned to kiss him.

And there was Cheetor himself, watching from the bushes, a child weary of trying to prove his worth who had strayed into the blissful clearing to spy on his best two friends and role-models.

Tigatron turned and shook his head, spying Cheetor among the bushes. "Nice try, little cat. You need more practice, to stalk the master stalker."

Cheetor transformed to robot mode. "Affirmative, big cat!" he exclaimed. "So what are you two doing?"

Air-razor, in a silent and explorative mood, turned falcon and took to the sky.

Cheetor gave a puzzled look at Tigatron, who was watching the falcon's retreating shape with affectionate eyes. "Hey, what's _up_, Tigatron?" he asked, folding his arms in a childish manner. "I mean, I know you two like each other and stuff, but why are you getting all mushy?"

Tigatron didn't answer until Air-razor's shape was completely out of site, and then he sighed. "Sorry, what was that?"

Cheetor repeated what he had just said with a touch of impatience.

"You're looking for strength, Cheetor," said Tigatron. "We all are, in a way. You strive to prove to the others that you are strong. Well, let me tell you this: that there is great strength in inter-bound sparks. Where there is care for a fellow being, where there is love, there is strength."

Cheetor laughed in his dream, but he awoke to misery. Tigatron had told him that love equals strength, but it wasn't true. Cheetor was close friends with Tigatron and Air-razor, but they disappeared, and Cheetor didn't feel strong.

Still, he dreamed by night and wished by day that he could see his friends again.

Cheetor walked over to Rhinox, who was sitting glumly at the computers. "Man, I'm so slagging bored without Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. Oh well, Depth Charge is here, and Rattrap can argue with him till he drops dead. That's always fun."

"Just dandy," said Rhinox unenthusiastically.

"Where's Optimus?" asked Cheetor.

"Gone to test the predacon computers. He took Depth Charge with him, actually. He'll be back soon."

No sooner had the rhino-bot finished talking than Optimus walked in. "It's affirmative," he said. "The predacons got their energy signature readers destroyed. Whoever destroyed ours destroyed theirs. And in case you're wondering, Depth Charge isn't with me; he wanted to go X-hunting. Rhinox, have you discovered anything?"

"What Depth Charge told us about the plateau is true," Rhinox answered automatically. "The gravity is extremely disoriented there. When gravity is messed up, other things get messed up too—like time and space."

"Yes," Optimus realized. "Before he was killed on Omicron, a professor Black-Comet was arrested for experimenting with gravitational disturbances. His documents say that the time/space tremors can cause a vortex to form."

"Whoa, whoa, a vortex?!" Cheetor exclaimed. "You mean, like the one that made us first crash on this planet?"

"Sort of," said Rhinox. "But that was a wormhole, a steady door through time. With the wormhole, its effects are certifiable, but the alleged Plateau Vortex is unpredictable. I think it has a source: that is, someone or something like the aliens is _controlling_ the vortex. It is obvious Megatron is guessing just like we are, or else he wouldn't be out on the plateau himself. For all we know, Megatron could be behind it!" Rhinox paused to catch his breath.

"Anyway," he went on, "I also looked at the parts of the computers that were destroyed by our mysterious visitor. Our computers can pick up no maximal signatures, but each of our energy DNA codes are still encrypted in the computer's data tracks. Each of us, except Silverbolt."

"Now what does that tell you?" Optimus pondered.

"Eeh-aaah!" Suddenly Rattrap was flung into the room, landing on his back on the floor with a clang.

"Stay outa my way, mouse," Depth Charge said, walking into the room. He turned to Optimus with a look devoid of his usual coolness. It was a desperate, almost pleading, but threatening expression. "I need help," he said.

"Depth Charge, we're busy at this moment," Optimus replied smugly.

"Yeah, you're never around to help us, so why should we help you, fish-breath?" Rattrap snapped. "On the other hand, maybe if you was to say _please_ or somethin'—"

"_Please_!" Depth Charge shouted angrily. "It's about Blackarachnia!"

"Tell us where she is!" Cheetor demanded, suddenly interested.

"That's just the slag'n thing: I don't know." Depth charge looked frantic. "She's gone crazy. She thinks Silverbolt is alive. I was with her, and then—"

"_You were with her_?" Cheetor exclaimed. "I knew it! You did know where she was; even after you said you couldn't find her yesterday."

"I _couldn't_ find her yesterday," Depth Charge retorted with a threatening look in his eyes. "But I found her today. She took off running with some disfigured wolf. I sure hope _it_ wasn't the thing that nearly scrapped her earlier. I caught up with them; we were right beside the plateau, in some rocks. Then they just disappeared: Blackarachnia and the wolf."

"The Vortex," Rhinox whispered.

"It happened about three cycles ago," Depth Charge explained.

"Why didn't you come to us sooner?!" Cheetor bellowed.

"Would have," said Depth Charge, "but something got up behind me and knocked me out cold."

"That would be whoever controls the Vortex," Rhinox thought aloud.

"Let's go investigate the plateau," Optimus ordered. "Cheetor, Depth Charge, you come with me. Rattrap, you'll guard the base from any predacons. Rhinox—"

"Yeah, I know," Rhinox interrupted. "I stay at the computers."

Optimus could not hold back a smile. "Why, Rhinox, how did you guess?"


	10. Glimpse Into the Past

**10: Glimpse into the Past**

Blackarachnia opened her eyes. Where was Knight? She had followed him to a stand of boulders, then something had touched her and she found herself on the ground, alone. She was still in the same stand of rocks; she could only guess that something had knocked her out.

"Knight? Are you there!?" Blackarachnia called. There was no answer. "Hmm…I hope nothing's happened to him." She traced her steps backward, to the glen where she had been with Depth Charge only a few moments ago, it seemed. Depth Charge was not there, nor were any of his footprints. Something weird was going on. Blackarachnia knew she was pretty close to the Transformer's arc, and that if she climbed a tree, she could see it. So she did.

After scrambling up an old beech tree, Blackarachnia could see the mountain where her friends were staying. But the entrance into the base was covered by rocks; the very same stones she and Silverbolt had dug through when she was still a predacon.

"This is too weird," Blackarachnia whispered. She set off running, and after a few cycles reached the place where the Axalon had stood before it was destroyed. The Axalon was not there. Using her internal computer, Blackarachnia scanned for any robotic life-forms. The scanner read a big, fat zero. "I'm dreaming," Blackarachnia told herself. "I have to be dreaming. Huh…"

Suddenly she gasped, for she saw two ships in the sky, crashing downward; and she at once recognized them as the Darkside and the Axalon.

"Is this some kind of simulation?" the black widow thought in perplexity. "This is weird; this is beyond weird…this is totally bizarre. It's like I've gone back in time."

Blackarachnia began to think, and perhaps there was still a touch of her predacon-like power-hungriness. If she were back in time, then she could perhaps change time as she knew it. Blackarachnia could stop Tarantulas from reprogramming her, then she would have never become a predacon, and then Silverbolt would be saved a lot of trouble. She thought broader. Why, what was to stop her from changing time in other ways? She could make sure that Silverbolt was not out walking with her at the time of the rock slide. Then he would be safe, and sound, and hers.

But should she really go through with this? Was it even possible? Dinobot proved that time could be changed but those particular instances—Megatron trying to destroy the Autobots, for example—were _destiny_. It was something that _had_ to have happened. Dinobot and all the maximals were meant to be heroes from the beginning; they were purposely placed here to interrupt Megatron's plans. If things were not all chance after all, could history really be changed?

Before Blackarachnia could make up her mind, there was something like an earthquake, and she fell to the ground. Blackness came from out of nowhere, and engulfed her like a sack. Soon Blackarachnia found herself almost entirely surrounded—no, within—the blackness. But there was a hole of sorts, a window, which still looked out into the Past. Blackarachnia felt she would rather be out there than trapped inside this blackness, but the hole was too small to fit through.

Suddenly a heavy body was thrown on top of her.

"Ugn!" a familiar voice came.

"Silverbolt! Uh—I mean Knight!" Blackarachnia exclaimed excitedly.

"Uh, you're safe," Knight said, though he sounded strangely breathless. "I wondered where you were. I got swallowed up by this blasted darkness—someone was fighting me—"

"Are you hurt?" Blackarachnia asked concernedly.

"I am…undamaged, thank you," Knight said. Suddenly he got quiet, as if remembering something suddenly.

"Silv—Knight," the spider said, "I'm sorry. That maximal you saw was Depth Charge. He's is my friend, but that's all." She knew he was injured; being Silverbolt, after all, he was sensitive. "It's not what you think. These past few days have been almost impossible for me, and they've made Depth Charge and I understand each other. Depth Charge has been a kind brother and guardian to me lately. Nothing else. Knight, surely you know, that you're the only bot I could ever love."

"Alright," Knight sighed. "If you say so."

"Oh, and Knight?" Blackarachnia asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you get off me?"

"Oh—sorry!" Knight fell to the floor and scrambled onto his feet again. "You are undamaged as well, I see. Good. I don't know where we are, but we'll get through this together."

Blackarachnia transformed back into robot mode and, despite the circumstances, couldn't be happier. She was with Silverbolt. The only thing left to do was to make Knight see that he _was_ Silverbolt.

***

Optimus came back to base with Depth Charge and Cheetor, fruitless in their search. _I knew it; I just knew it_, Depth Charge though bitterly. _I just can't ever allow myself o get close to anyone. Some way or other, I'll lose the people I care about. Always have, always will, probably. How could I have been so slagging weak?!_

"Optimus, get over here!" Rhinox shouted, still at the computers. "Look at this!"

The five maximals looked at the computer screen. A message was coming up.

"A time like this," Rattrap said, "and you want to check your E-mail?!"

"Shut up, Rattrap," Optimus ordered, "and look at the message."

"Maximals," Rhinox read aloud, "I seem to have one of your maximals stuck inside my vortex. That, of course, I don't mind—the more the merrier! But I thought it only fair to warn you that you won't be seeing her again. No hard feelings; after all, when I'm done, there won't be any of you to give any feelings. Lovely chatting. Adieu."

"How dare that slag-spouting freak-bot!" Cheetor shouted.

"Shut up, Cheetor," Optimus ordered.

"Now ya know how I feel," Rattrap sighed.

"What does it mean, 'the more the merrier'?" Rhinox pondered. "Optimus, I don't know what to do. I don't know where the vortex is or how to access it. Hang on." He typed a message hastily in reply to the one he had received. "I don't suppose there's any use in trying to negotiate?" was Rhinox's message.

"I don't think so," the incoming message read.

"Nobody move," Rhinox said suddenly. "Look. I don't know who this is who is talking to us, but while his message is up, I may be able to tamper into his controls. I need to concentrate."

Silence.

"I've got something," Rhinox exclaimed. "Man, this guy has a high-tech internal computer system; he's controlling the vortex and sending messages to us without even using a console. Hmm, here we go; the Vortex info and controls. It's an unsteady vortex, just like I guessed; it's unpredictable, but it can be opened and closed. The Vortex seems to be a portal back into the past. Blackarachnia _could_ be trapped in the past! If I can get control of the vortex, then I can get her out. If the Vortex closes, she'll be temporarily stuck inside it, neither in the past or in the present, just stuck."

"But only temporarily?" Optimus asked.

"Only until the person who has control of the vortex frees her. Uh-oh." Rhinox went stiff. "I think he knows I'm looking through his records and controls. Ah, slag! He's closing up the vortex!"

***

Blackarachnia and Knight were, of course, no longer in the past or present. They were stuck between, in the darkness. The only light came from the opening which led into the past, and which was getting smaller as the vortex closed.

"We're trapped," Blackarachnia exclaimed, realizing it for the first time. "Is this some kind of time wormhole?"

"It would seem so," Knight agreed; he then went and peered out of the vortex opening.

"What do you see?" Blackarachnia asked.

Knight gasped. "A maximal. He looks so familiar! Hmm, if I do say so myself, he looks rather handsome."

"Is he silver, with a black faceguard and eagle wings?" the she-spider questioned.

"Why, yes! Who is he?"

"He's you—I mean he's Silverbolt. And you're right, he is _very_ handsome. And charming too." Blackarachnia smiled. "What's he doing?"

"He seems to be fighting; yes, now he about to fire a missile at—a female maximal. She resembles you, though a bit smaller, and yellow and black instead of blue and red."

"That's me," Blackarachnia admitted, "in my Original form."

"Ah, he will not fire at her. It is against his honor," said Knight. "Oh, what's this? It appears time has passed, and now you…you're fighting him. Excellent fighting skills; you're talented. But he will not fight back; he sees there is good in you and pities you as well. Now he is being blown away by some mighty squall, it seems. He is with you again! You are hiking along together through the jungle." Knight was getting more into the story. The feelings he guessed Silverbolt must be feeling seemed to be his own feelings now. "Silverbolt goes across a log bridge, knowing he ought to go first, lest it should fall. He would not want to lose you. Now he is battling to save you—he is fighting a panther or something, but—uh! He topples off a cliff!"

"Then I save him," Blackarachnia said, going through the story in her head. "He knows I'm meant to be a maximal, but I won't accept it…yet."

"Now," Knight went on, "you and I—I mean, you and Silverbolt—are faced by a giant robot. He seems mad, and I step up to protect you. Silverbolt does, that is. The beast is a crab; he has me held in one of his pincers."

"I hate this part," said Blackarachnia.

"Don't worry—friends come to help us. You are falling now, but I rescue you. The crab is defeated; I finished him off."

"That part was cool."

"Time skips again, and I—Silverbolt, I mean to say—looks heartbroken. I have lost a brother; he lived a warrior and died a hero. I look sad for other reasons, too. An innocent creature came: a disfigured, unintelligent being: a Transmutate. But she died. I heard that two maximals—a Tigatron and Air-razor, seemingly—have been kidnapped and we cannot recover them. Though Silverbolt seems sad, he is not giving up on you."

"He never does."

"Silverbolt meets you by a lake, but looks distressed. He is fraternizing with the opposite faction—with you—and this violates his honor and makes him feel guilty. But he knows he cannot give up on you. He longs for you to join him. His commander orders him to destroy you, but Silverbolt disobeys; he can't stand to hurt you. Thus Silverbolt is punished and imprisoned; angry and riled, he gets violent and he hurts his fellow comrade. It pains him to do it, but it is for the adolescent's own good. Now Silverbolt finds his love and…the spider-girl shoots him! How could she do that to me?"

"Sorry."

"Time skips, and we are both in front of a giant ship. Megatron—how do I know his name?—is there with us. You save me from him. There is chaos, a time storm, and shouting, but with my help you manage to stop the storm. Phew. Oh no! You are in my arms, having sacrificed yourself for the good of the maximals! I assume you are dead but soon learn that you are only unconscious. Don't scare me like that! Time skips, and now you are hurt or sick. I am worried. A large, green maximal tries to repair you, but a spider scientist interferes and causes him to fail. I am heartbroken. Revenge is all I can think of, and I pursued the spider scientist. I would have killed him, but the crab returns. And then…you're back! I am utterly shocked, and utterly relieved! You rescue me, and you look like you do now."

"Not too shabby."

The hearts of Blackarachnia and Knight were completely open to each other, and both hearts seemed to sing when they were together.

But suddenly Knight cried out. The window into the past shut! Everything was black. No, wait, it was not altogether black. There was another window—Blackarachnia knew instinctively it was the Window To The Present.

"Shall we make our way towards the light, as always?" Knight said.

"Yeah—but hurry, it's getting smaller!" the she-spider exclaimed. "And it looks so far off! How do we get there? I can't see you!" She was frantic—she just got Silverbolt back, and now she might lose him. The vortex might close up, they might get lost in the dark!

Knight nudged her softly, and she felt his thick, soft, wolf fur. It calmed her down somewhat. "Get on my back," said Knight gently. Blackarachnia did as she was told and, though it was not quite like riding Silverbolt, it was satisfying.

"Let's go, Silverbolt," Blackarachnia said.

The wolf made no objection to the name this time, but whether he had truly got his memory back or not remained to be seen.


	11. Unexplained Window

**11: Unexplained Window**

What, no! Stop him!" Cheetor exclaimed. "Don't let him close the vortex!"

Rhinox shook his head sadly. "I don't have control over the vortex, Cheetor."

Cheetor stared at Rhinox. "You're giving up?!" Optimus and Rattrap walked out of the room. Cheetor looked after Optimus. "_You're_ giving up?!" He looked ready to burst, absolutely fuming. "You—you pack of decepticon descendents!" he shouted as loud as he could, and ran.

Rhinox shook his head, and turned back to the computer screen. "Ugn!" Someone punched him; he fell out of the chair, seeing stars. Rhinox found that Depth Charge standing over him. "Whah…?"

Depth Charge reached down and picked up the rhino-bot with a vice-like grip. "You get that slagging computer working, or I'm going to scrap you," he said, in his usual gruff, but cool and collected tone.

"I told you, I can't!" Rhinox retorted, speaking loudly in the hopes that Optimus would hear.

"Look, the message is still up on the screen!" Depth Charge shouted in a vicious voice that _would_ bring Optimus in for sure. "You said you could access this freak's internal computer so long as this stuff's up. So access the Vortex controls!"

"I'll try," Rhinox concurred reluctantly. He accessed the controls again. "Yes, I have control of these. But…"

"But what?" Depth Charge asked impatiently.

"But he has a set of back-up controls. It's a battle now. Whoever can hold up their controls the longest, will be able to free Blackarachnia or imprison her. Call the others back in here; they need to see this. But don't get your hopes up."

Depth Charge grunted. "I gave that up a long time ago."

***

Knight struggled toward the light; he wasn't sure if his eyes were tricking him, or if it was really true, but the Window To The Present seemed be diminishing in size. It was harder to see. By the time he reached it, with Blackarachnia still on his back, it was too small to fit through.

"We're too late," Blackarachnia whispered. "Does this mean…we're stuck here?"

"The door hasn't closed yet, Blackarachnia," Knight replied. "We do not give up until the door is closed. And besides, look! Someone is fighting in our favor."

Blackarachnia looked at the window, and it grew in size. Then, after a moment, it shrank again. "And someone is fighting against us," she observed. "I bet Depth Charge and the other maximals are trying to save us. Somehow they know I'm in danger."

"Look! Whatever your friends are up to, it is working!" Knight exclaimed. The window out of the blackness was now big enough to fit through. "You first, Blackarachnia."

"No." Suddenly the spider looked stone-resolute. "I am not going to risk losing you again. You're going first. I don't care what your honor says."

"Ladies first—"

"Shut up," Blackarachnia said, trying to look angry, although amusement was seeping through her voice. They were at their old game again.

Knight agreed to go first as he saw that it really mattered to her. Before he could get up the window, though, a volley of gunfire went off. As Blackarachnia drew her own weapon, Knight instinctively jumped in front of her.

"It's just like the good old days," she said dryly, "when you always block my trying to shoot with your big, hairy body!"

"It's my duty," Knight smiled. His countenance went serious as he turned to face the darkness. "Whoever is shooting, will you show yourself? We mean you no harm, and if you desire a route out of this place devoid of light and fresh air, it is safe to say that we can aid you."

Suddenly the Window To The Present shut.

"…Or not," said Knight. "Ugn!" someone knocked him to the ground. "Blackarachnia, run! We're under attack!"

Suddenly there was gunfire, and a scuffle between nobody-knew-who began. Blackarachnia could hardly see what was going on; she didn't want to fire lest she hit Silverbolt by accident. Where was Silverbolt? It was so dark she couldn't see him. Blackarachnia didn't know how much time had passed before she was thrown to the floor.

Her COM-link clicked into life. There was some static, and then Cheetor's voice came through. "Blackarachnia? Are you there? Please be alive!"

"Cheetor!" the she-spider exclaimed. "Cheetor, how did you find us?"

"_Us_?" Cheetor's voice came. Depth Charge's voice broke in to their conversation. "Hey spider, didn't I tell you not to go get yourself scrapped?!"

"Well, whatever you guys are doing, it's keeping me from getting scrapped so far," the spider replied. "Just keep fighting to get us out of here. There are two others with me: a wolf and a robot, I think. I don't know if they are maximal or predacon."

Rhinox's voice came through the COM-link. "No, Depth Charge, I'm not closing connection, for Cybertron's sake! I just want to talk to her! Hello, Blackarachnia? One of the robots with you, is he controlling the Vortex? I mean, does he appear to be doing anything suspicious?"

Blackarachnia was getting more worried. What was happening to Silverbolt? "I can't see." Her voice was frantic.

Then the Window opened again. The smallest slit of light cast the battlescene into relief. Silverbolt was out cold on the floor and the other bot appeared to be fighting some kind of battle in his mind. "I can see now. That bot's definitely up to something," Blackarachnia said into the Com-link. She explained the situation.

"Blackarachnia, listen to me," Rhinox ordered sternly. "If you have your gun, fire at that bot. He's controlling the Vortex which you're trapped in. As soon as you fire, I can make an opening out of there, but it will only last while he's down in his moment of shock. When you see the opening in the dark get wide enough, _get through it_. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but I have to bring Silv—I mean, the wolf out with me," Blackarachnia said. "I'll try to grab him and we'll both jump through. Here goes. Blackarachnia out." She fired at the indistinguishable robot as best she could in the dark.

With a sharp cry, the robot fell to the ground. The slit of light expanded, and Blackarachnia could see the plateau outside, in the daylight, and in present time. She darted over to Knight and nudged him to get him going, but he was unconscious.

"Aw, come on, Bowser-boy. Don't go dying on me now!" She grabbed his back feet and dragged him along as fast as she could. "Ooh, you're heavy! Come on, Fido, you and I are gonna get out of this together." But the robot which controlled the vortex was already getting up! Blackarachnia pulled for all she was worth. No!

The vortex closed.

***

"Slag it." Rhinox turned away from the computer in distress. The whole room was silent. It was over. Blackarachnia was lost.

"Your stupid ideas never help anyone!" Rattrap exclaimed.

"I did the best I could," Rhinox grunted.

"I don't understand," Optimus said, with a heavy sadness in his voice. "She gave herself up for that wolf. Why?"

"She thinks it's Silverbolt," said Depth Charge. His voice was strangely hoarse. _Why?_ He asked himself. _Why should I be upset? I knew once I grew close to someone that they would disappear_. But this thought did not cheer him up.

Cheetor had been dumbstruck thus far. He couldn't believe it. "No," he said. "No. No, no, **NO**!" his voice rose to a heartbroken yell. "I don't get it! I don't understand! This can't happen!"

"Yes it can!" Depth Charge snapped. "It's called the world, kid. Get used to it."

"No!" Cheetor shouted. "If the world was this hopeless, I don't think my spark would have ever come online. I wish it didn't! Blackarachnia _is_ out there. Slag it, so is Silverbolt! Can't you feel them? We can't just give up on them!"

Optimus stared at him. "… Maybe you're right." He and the maximals began to hope against hope that their friends would come out alive.

***

Light.

Blackarachnia had only been in the dark for a minute before the window opened again. She heard the cries of shock and fury from the robot she had shot at. Just one more pull. Blackarachnia pulled Knight through the door and it closed behind them. They both toppled over onto the ground.

Knight sat up. "We're out! But…what…happened?"

"What does it matter?" she exclaimed, suddenly happy again. "We're out! And we're together. Knight, after seeing those scenes from the past…surely you remember that they are your memories?"

Knight did not answer. He didn't know. He only knew that he did not want to join the maximals if they were as bad as Darkstar said. His mind was overwhelmed with thoughts about what to do—Darkstar. Darkstar would know. Darkstar usually always knew the answers to Knight's questions. "Blackarachnia, allow me to escort you back to wherever you came from, and then—"

"You'll come back with me?" Blackarachnia exclaimed.

"—Then I'll go back to my pack," Knight finished. "Only for a little while. I'll see you again. I just want some advice from a friend; then I'll return to you."

"But…Silverbolt…does that mean you still don't remember?" Blackarachnia seemed crestfallen.

"Not yet." Knight hadn't found that root yet; that connector—which could make him remember who he really was—was still invisible. For all he knew, Knight could be Silverbolt or just some other Transformer. He hoped he wasn't a Transformer at all.

"Go ahead to your pack then, Balto. You don't have to escort me," Blackarachnia said with feigned cheerfulness.

"I'll see you again," Knight promised, and left.

Blackarachnia watched him go. So many things had happened so quickly. Her trip back in time, being imprisoned inside the vortex, those two other robots…but she was still alone. Silverbolt was still not himself. It did not make logical sense that Silverbolt could be alive at all, but she somehow knew it was true.

The sound of jets came into hearing as Optimal Optimus soared into view. Cheetor, Rattrap, Rhinox, and Depth Charge were all riding on him.

"Oh no," Blackarachnia groaned. How had they found her? Until she could prove Silverbolt was alive, she thought it would be better to hide. Thus she ran out of sight. The spider-bot settled down, ready to rest and dream of a future plans for a life with Silverbolt. Together they would fly hand in hand.


	12. Rising Action

**12: Rising Action**

That night, Megatron was going through some records on his computer. "Black-Comet's studies…Vortex control, time/space fabric…" he mumbled. "It's all drabble! Wait…what's this? Ah…shortly after Protoform X's escape and the Omicron Massacre, Professor Black-comet disappeared. Yess…Ah, here. It was later conjectured that he stole a ship and took off for Earth." Megatron laughed triumphantly. "And if he truly made it here, then that old miser is still moping around with the Time Vortex in tow. The disruption on the plateau was no coincidence, as I suspected."

Inferno walked up to Megatron and bowed respectfully. "You sent for me?"

"Ah, yes," the purple bot replied, with the infamous Megatron smile appearing on his face. "Tell Waspinator and Quickstrike to hold the fort. Rally everyone else to me. We've got a universe to turn to my own purposes, and little time to be wasted doing it."

***

"Down there!" Cheetor shouted. "I saw her!" He was still riding on Optimus, with Rattrap, Rhinox, and Depth Charge beside him. "Well? Aren't we gonna go after her?"

"Not now, Cheetor," said Optimus. "More urgent business is at hand. Rhinox, are you sure about you said earlier?"

"About the computer?" asked Rhinox. "I'm positive. "I've repaired the parts of the computer that crashed. We can scan maximal and predacon energy signatures again, except for Silverbolt's. I couldn't recover his."

"That can only mean one thing," said Optimus. "Silverbolt is still out there, but somebody doesn't want us to know it. That somebody is the entity that you said you sensed, Depth Charge. And whoever this person is, he can control a Time Vortex, and he doesn't have an energy signature. Now listen, Megatron knows that a Vortex is a major tactical advantage—perhaps a way to change the past."

"So what are we going to do about it? What _can_ we do?" Rhinox pondered.

"You don't think…" Depth Charge mused. He looked shocked in sudden realization. "You don't think that that wolf Blackarachnia keeps talking about _is_ Silverbolt? And…_Silverbolt _could be the one controlling the Vortex!"

"My thoughts exactly," said Optimus. "If Silverbolt is alive, his surviving had to involve some strange incident with his spark—the power of a Transformer's spark has not been fully explored. Who knows? Silverbolt's spark may control the time Vortex."

"Yeah," said Cheetor in a dull voice, "except I doubt Silverbolt would try to keep Blackarachnia hostage inside a Vortex!" Cheetor was aware how wrong the other maximals were in their guess.

"Hey," said Depth Charge, "Blackarachnia wanted me to meet Silverbolt; she's not going to drop the idea. All we have to do is wait here for her to come with Silverbolt."

"If you think you're right, why don't we all just follow her?" Cheetor asked impatiently.

"Think about it logically," Optimus advised. "If this wolf is Silverbolt, he would have returned to us immediately. Unless, of course, his memory was wiped. Then he would naturally follow the instincts of his beast mode and live with a wolf pack. A bunch of huge, noisy robots trying to track down a clan of quiet and swift animals would be impossible."

"I guess so," said Cheetor reluctantly. "Man, a cat waiting for a dog to make its next move before he can make his own—if that isn't wrong, what is?"

"What about Mega-brains?" Rattrap asked. "He'll be comin' heya too, won't `e?"

"That's why we're going down to the plateau. We'll wait for him there, and put a stop to his schemes. Weapons out, maximals!" Optimus ordered.

***

"Knight!" Brent growled. "You've been gone almost two days straight. The sun is setting. Where have you been?"

"Scouting," answered Knight shortly. He was in no mood for long explanations. "Where is Darkstar?"

The black wolf, as usual, seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "Knight," he growled, "I need to speak with you." The two wolves went off by themselves. "You worried me. I needed you today, but you were gone. Now you had better explain."

"I got lost," Knight lied. He knew he couldn't tell Darkstar that he had spent the day inside a vortex with a Transformer, and that he was passionately in love with this Transformer.

"You got lost?" Darkstar smiled. It was the same smile: too expressive, too knowing, for a wolf to have. "You _lost_ yourself in the _dark_?"

"Yes," Knight answered, shortly again.

"But it was daylight."

"We were trapped!" Knight said quickly.

"Where?"

"U-underground," Knight said, regaining his calm. "We were trapped underground."

Darkstar looked disturbed. "…_We_?"

Knight was dumbstruck, lost to words.

"You and a Transformer?" Darkstar asked, growing angry. "You and that beast you insisted on rescuing earlier? Knight, haven't I explained to you what they are? Murderers! Monsters!"

"But not intentionally, I am sure!" Knight defended. "I have never felt so at ease with anyone in my life."

"Then maybe you _do_ belong with them," Darkstar said in a low voice. "I was a fool to think I could change you, to think that you could violate your heritage. You're a monster and a murderer yourself, Knight; but I wanted to give you a chance. I gave you the freedom to decide what was right. Yet still…you are doomed."

"I am not a murderer, and neither is she!" Knight shouted, hoarse.

"You're a liar as well, I see. And what happened to your _noblese obligue_? I was a witness of our brown scout's death, and that spider killed him. That makes the spider a murderer. Even if she wasn't a killer, she is only one Transformer. One good one does not make up for an entire race of evil ones!"

"If the robots are truly and intentionally evil," said Knight, "then Blackarachnia would know it, and so would I. We will be different from them. We will stand strong together, on our own."

Darkstar shook his head and smiled sadly. "Like I said…I was a fool for trying." He took off running.

"Darkstar, no!" Knight shouted. "This doesn't mean we can't still be friends!" With a groan of irritation, Knight took off after the black wolf. Darkstar was an oddity Knight did not understand. Sometimes he appeared to care for Knight and the other wolves; other times, like when he smiled that meaningful leer, he seemed only desiring to use Knight for his own purposes. What those purposes were remained a mystery. Knight thought he had seen Darkstar's power-hungry look somewhere before…but where? Oh yes, on the face of a predacon.

***

Megatron, Tarantulas, Inferno, Rampage, and Dinobot II were on their way to the plateau. Dinobot was running alongside Megatron and they were both swift in their reptilian beast modes.

"Sir," Dinobot's clone growled, "what, may I ask, are we doing?"

"Going to find an old friend," answered Megatron, "—an old friend who holds the key, or should I say Vortex, to victory."

***

There was a deathly silence as the five maximals sat on the empty plateau. This was where, only a few nights ago, Cheetor had fought Depth Charge. He was glad Depth Charge didn't tell Optimus about it.

Cheetor was sitting beside the manta-ray, in his beast mode. "Well," he sighed, "this is a pretty good night: Blackarachnia is safe, and in a minute we get to shred the preds."

"Don't count on it," Depth Charge said callously.

"What, you gonna hog all the predacons to yourself?" Cheetor asked. "Cuz I'm way faster than you could ever be."

"No," Depth Charge retorted sharply; "I mean don't count on the spider's being safe. She'll be killed somehow or other. I still can't believe she wasn't lost in the vortex. How did she get out? What caused The Window to be reopened?"

"We did," said Cheetor. He was silent as he thought it over. Maybe there was some truth in what Tigatron had told him—love equals strength. It was Cheetor's care that had made him keep believing they would get Blackarachnia back. Everybody had given up except him. Could such an unscientific, unphysical thing as love be strong enough to open a vortex? Not that he loved Blackarachnia like Silverbolt loved her—but he was her friend.

***

Blackarachnia was a few miles off, hiding among the rocks. She was thinking similar thoughts. Was it really her hope and determination, combined with the care her friend was feeling for her, that opened a door out of her black prison?

The spider-lady shot her head up upon hearing a familiar noise. It was a wolf howl: the high, noble call which so often struck fear into the hearts of humans. Why were they afraid of wolves, she wondered? Yes, wolves had the power to kill a human, but one thing that made the animals so amazing is that won't do it. Generally if sane and undisturbed, wolf would never attack a human or a robot.

On the other hand, Blackarachnia thought, the wolf which had attacked her seemed quite in its right mind. That black wolf had had the strength to tear _her_ apart, which normal wolves couldn't do. And where did that gunshot come from which had stunned her? Oh well. It didn't matter now.

Her spark was with Silverbolt, wherever he was. The once majestic, graceful avian wolf may be temporarily disfigured and unable to fly or transform, but he was still Silverbolt. He was still Blackarachnia's knight in shining armor: pure, strong, and fast, with the heart of a true Wolf.

Blackarachnia had been in her beast mode, hiding among some rocks. Now she got out of her hiding place and scampered off. She had to find Knight. No matter who he was, maximal, predacon, or wolf, memory or no memory, she had to find him.


	13. Clash

**13: Clash **

Knight raced along through the woods which he had just recently run through to reach his Pack. Now he was running away from the pack again, after Darkstar. Knight soon lost sight of the black wolf in the shadowy distance ahead of him. Going at a slower pace now, Knight followed Darkstar's scent. He noticed for the first time how unlike his scent was from any of the other wolves.

Soon Knight reached the edge of the jungle and was in sight of the boulder-strewn flatlands where Darkstar usually went. If Knight followed the flatlands far enough, he would come to the plateau where he had been with Blackarachnia just before they were caught in the Vortex. Straight ahead of Knight were these rocky grounds, behind him was the woods where his wolf pack was resting, and to his left and right sides were high, black cliffs. It was nighttime now, but to this wolf, like any, darkness was as welcome as daylight.

Knight sniffed around, his nose to the ground like a bloodhound. Darkstar's scent led to the cliffs on the right. He was heading towards the plateau, Knight conjectured, only he was taking a detour through the cliffs. There must be a trail or a path, Knight thought, and bounded over to the shadowy stone giants. Yes, there _was_ a path. It was a hard one, and it led through darkness so black that it was hard for even a wolf to see through. But so was this wolf's life: going through the darkness for the ones he loved. He was doing this for Darkstar. Knight had to show Darkstar that they could still be friends.

The disfigured wolf stopped in his tracks. The path stopped. There was nowhere to go, only sheer, black rock. Had Darkstar _climbed_ the cliff? Impossible! No wolf could do that. The cliff was at least seventy feet high and almost all the way sheer.

_Now I'll have to go back and take the usual route_, Knight thought. He sniffed the air once before he set off. There was a familiar scent on the air. A faint metallic, slightly oily scent. Transformers. Their scent came from both directions, but more strongly from above. Something was happening on top of that cliff! Knight had to know what. Blackarachnia could be there. She could be in trouble. The silver wolf took a deep breath and began to climb.

***

Five maximals and five predacons faced each other on the plateau. Cheetor held his large blaster in both claw-like hands and stood tall beside his leader. Optimus stepped forward, perhaps in an attempt to parley. Megatron, however, was in a hurry to win this open space for himself and wait for the Vortex Controller to come. He fired a purple, fiery blast out of his tail weapon.

Hit in the shoulder, Optimus reeled back a little. But his new, huge body was strong and was not badly damaged.

Depth Charge saw Megatron's weapon go off, and took that as a signal for action. He transformed into beast mode and soared through the air, heading right towards Rampage. Dinobot's claws flashed in the starlight as he jumped up and caught onto Depth Charge's body. He hung by one claw, and before the manta-ray knew what was happening, Dinobot took his other knife-like hand and started mauling at the metal.

Rampage saw what was happening and, as usual, laughed. He headed over to the warrior ray under assault. "Saurian!" Rampage called to his spark-brother. "No fight's a fight unless it's unfair. Make it two against one—allow me to join you!"

Rattrap, in vehicle mode, zoomed over to Megatron. The rex-bot was too busy aiming shots at the aero Optimus to see the rat. Rattrap, not being able to resist, sank his stainless steel teeth into the predacon leader's leg.

This caught Megatron's immediate attention. "Aah! You vermin!" Megatron tried to shake the rat off his leg, but this effort was to no avail. "Err! When I get my hands on you…"

"Royalty!" Inferno caught Rattrap by the tail and dislocated him from Megatron's leg. "I've got your back, sir!" The ant-bot swung the squealing rat around by his tail and then threw him yards away.

Megatron smiled with amusement, and then turned around again to continue his target practice. In greeting, he received a whack in the face from Optimus' giant fist. Inferno ran over to help his leader.

Meanwhile Cheetor and Rhinox, back-to-back, were firing at the other predacons. Rhinox had a certain Transmetal Tarantula on his mind, and Cheetor was in the mood to see that bone-faced clone of Dinobot blown to bits. This was easier said than done, since Dinobot left Depth Charge to return the assault.

After being flun by Inferno, Rattrap landed right on top of Depth Charge. "Yikes!" He jumped out of the way to avoid a smashing two-fister from Rampage. The crab tackled Depth Charge again.

"Maaan, don't you two bone-heads ever get sick 'o fight'n each other?" Rattrap moaned. "Hey Ray-boy, there's a lotta other preds that could use the beat'n you're always giving that crab cake!"

"None are more deserving of the beating," Depth Charge grunted, struggling for his life. Rattrap ran off to help Rhinox.

Depth Charge and Rampage carried their battle to one edge of the plateau, where there was a ravine so deep neither of them could see the bottom. Across the twenty-foot wide ravine was a flat cliff-top with a pond on it, and beyond that was another drop. At the bottom of that second drop was where Knight was. Right by the edge of the first drop, the deeper one, was where Rampage and Depth Charge were fighting. With a mighty heave, Depth Charge managed to push Rampage off of him and off the edge of the cliff as well.

Rampage shouted as he plummeted downwards. "I'll finish with you later," Depth Charge promised, and turned to the battle. That was when he spotted the wolf. "Huh? What in the world…." He saw a black wolf among the rocks. Depth Charge flew over to the rocks.

The wolf did not run. Depth Charge moved closer to it. "Not another step," said the wolf.

Depth Charge gasped. "Who and _what _are you?"

"Darkstar," said the Black Wolf. "Y'know, you look like you might do."

"Do what?" Depth Charge demanded, still somewhat alarmed.

"I seem to have an unlucky time choosing slaves. Every one who comes my way has some unexplainable-to-science pain go'n on," the black wolf replied. "Plus, they're psycho."

"Well, if you're a wolf and you can talk, then I must be turning into a psycho too," said Depth Charge. "I'm not interested, dog. Besides, I'm no good to anyone."

"Is that so?"

Depth Charge did not exactly like this wolf's attitude, but a strange feeling was coming over him like this wolf was familiar. Depth Charge remembered his suspicion earlier that there was someone out there—a survivor of Omicron perhaps, like himself. No, it was all in his head. "Yeah," Depth Charge answered quietly, "my home was destroyed. So was everybody and everything I loved."

The black wolf sighed. "That place didn't happen to be Omicron, did it?"

Depth Charge suddenly shot his head up and fixed his flaming red optics on the wolf. "_What did you say_?"

The wolf smiled. "Shall we…talk?"

***

At last! Knight scrambled above the cliff. He did it! He made it! But it had taken several hours. Sounds of battle now reached his ears clearly. What if Blackarachnia was in trouble? The silver wolf looked at his surroundings. He had climbed up a cliff, and was now on the crag's flat top. There was a pond a yard or so off, no doubt formed by a spring. Straight ahead there was a twenty-foot gorge, and on the other side of the gorge was The Plateau!

Knight gasped. There were _ten_ Transformers fighting on the plateau!

Something else caught his eye now. It was among the rocks on the plateau across the gorge. This thing was blue, red, metallic—"Blackarachnia!" exclaimed Knight. He threw up his head and howled, for no reason other than his joy at seeing her.

"Silverbolt!" Blackarachnia shouted. She started making her way toward the edge of the gorge. Knight did the same. The chasm was separating them.

They looked at each other from across the gorge. "Hang on, I'll jump," said Knight.

"Uh, you're not any less of a bone-head, are you?" Blackarachnia asked, smiling. "Just hold on to your fur a minute and I'll find an easier way to cross."

"Ha! I'll not wait so long to see you," Knight told her. He backed up so as to have some distance for a running start, and then bounded towards the gorge.

Blackarachnia watched him go. He was disfigured, maybe, but that made him no less graceful. She could imagine the eagle wings and talons on him as he jumped.

_Whoosh!_ "Ugn!" Suddenly a shot from somewhere got Knight in mid-air. It hit him, throwing him off his balance, and he fell downwards.

Blackarachnia gasped. "Silverbolt!" she shouted.

***

Depth Charge stood behind a large boulder, one eye closed and holding his blaster-gun. He looked uneasy.

"Again," said Darkstar.

"I already hit him," said Depth Charge.

"Yes, I _know_!" the black canine snapped. "But isn't there another one out there?"

"There's _nine_ other ones out there," Depth Charge retorted. "You hired to me to shoot every bot on the planet?"

"I mean the one by the cliff edge!" Darkstar told him impatiently. "The femme!"

"Can't," said Depth Charge, shortly. He knew that somehow or other Blackarachnia would be killed, but surely not by _him_, right? Depth Charge was convinced that Silverbolt did _not_ control the vortex after all—it was this black wolf, Darkstar. Besides, Optimus and Blackarachnia were foolish for believing that he was alive after they saw his spark rise out of his body. So that silvery, disfigured wolf he had just shot had to be an ordinary wolf—one he could shoot down. But he couldn't hit Blackarachnia. She was like his sister, although he hated himself for thinking it.

"You're not going to chicken out?" asked Darkstar in surprise. "I thought you _cared_ about Omicron. You want to get it back, don't you? Remember, as soon as I have control of time I can bring Star-base Rugby back. It's _worth_ a couple of maximal slag-heaps."

"That's not very maximal talk," said Depth Charge. "Anyway, we can finish _her _later. I've got a crab to deal with. X has gotta die first. I threw him down the abyss already, but I've gotta make sure he dies. There's a roundabout way down to the bottom of the cliff. I'll take it. You…" Depth Charge forced himself to say it, "_you _can get rid of the spider yourself."

"Well and good," said the black wolf.

***

Blackarachnia stood at the edge of the cliff. She was dumbstruck. She couldn't believe it—she couldn't move, she couldn't think—Silverbolt _could not_ have fallen. He couldn't survive that fall. Maybe there was a ledge. Yes, maybe Silverbolt landed on a ledge!

"Slag it, how do I get down?" she thought aloud.

"Here, let _me_ assist you!" Blackarachnia turned around just in time to see a large, black wolf pouncing at her. It was the same one that had attacked her before. His weight was thrust against her, and she lost her balance. She felt herself tottering backward—there was nothing but air below her—she was falling, watching the canine's leering face above her get smaller and smaller.

As she scraped past a rock sticking out of the cliff, Blackarachnia's sense came back to her_. _Transforming into beast mode, the she-spider clung onto the cliff-face. How long she could stay here without falling, she had no idea.


	14. Sparks Intertwined

**14: Sparks Intertwined**

It was foggy and the air was thick, and it was still night. Knight opened his eyes slowly, and then wished he hadn't. Right above him was a pair of fierce, crazy, green optics. They looked familiar.

"Hmm, what have we here?" the owner of the optics asked. He was a huge robot, with mandibles for a mouth and several legs attached to his back. The name _Rampage_ came to Knight's mind. "A beast of some sort?" the big robot went on. "Oh yes, you are a wolf. I knew someone who could transform into a winged wolf…but he died. Your fate will be the same." He spoke calmly, almost soothingly, but with a mocking and violent nature behind it that would make anyone shudder. "Yes, that Silverbolt was lucky. He died quickly. You will not be so fortunate."

Knight wondered how he had survived the fall. He rolled over onto his side, and found that he almost rolled off a cliff. So, he thought, this was a ledge, and a very broad one at that. But he was lying perilously close to the edge, and Rampage was watching his every move.

Rampage's hand came down and lightly touched Knight's fur. He shuddered. "Aw, a little wolf pup, have we," said Rampage, "all alone in the world?" His fingers went dangerously near Knight's throat.

Snarling, Knight grabbed Rampage's hand between his teeth and shook it in his mouth. Rampage withdrew his hand quickly. "Bad dog," he said. "Is that any way to treat a guest?"

Knight realized for the first time why he couldn't move very much. Rampage was holding him down by his back legs.

"What," Rampage went on, "are you giving up? It's true you can't escape, but it's so dull when the quarry has no spirit. No terror, just hopelessness."

_Hopelessness? No_, Knight thought. Blackarachnia was alive. What was he doing down here when he could be with her? There was still a lot of fight left in him. "Sir," said Knight, his voice dripping with anger and disgust, "get your inferior hands away from me at once."

Rampage gasped. He was utterly shocked. That sounded just like Silverbolt! Knight used this moment of surprise to act. He squirmed around and savagely bit Rampage's foot which was holding him down. Rampage released him. Knight sprung backward, free.

"Ah, that's better!" Rampage said with amusement. "Lots of spirit, it makes the killing more fun!"

"I assure you," growled Knight, "that the only one dying will be you. And please you to know that I take no pleasure in the suffering of others. I certainly won't miss you, but neither will I enjoy your death."

"That's very reassuring," Rampage nodded. "I'm afraid I can't give you anything so comforting, but I _can_ give you this." The crab-bot took out his cannon/blaster.

"No wait!" Knight warned him. "Use that thing and you'll make the ledge fall! It'll kill us both, Rampage!"

"_My_ spark is invincible!" Rampage laughed.

Knight ran forward lightning fast, got his strength up, and leapt straight up into the air. His teeth locked around Rampage's blaster. Rampage was laughing again, and shaking his gun-arm wildly to loose the canine parasite which clung to him. Knight would not let go. Rampage shouted angrily, and hurled the gun, with Knight still clinging to it, off the ledge.

Knight released the blaster and held to the edge of the ledge. The gun fell down. Furious that the wolf was still alive, Rampage charged at him. Knight stood his ground, waiting. Here was his chance. Rampage charged to the edge, Knight darted swiftly between his legs, and pushed the crab-bot from behind. Rampage shrieked as he fell off the border of the ledge.

"There sure are a lot of people falling off cliffs around here," Knight commented. He began to look for a way off the ledge, promising himself that he WOULD get back to Blackarachnia.

Then suddenly—"Ugn!—"the horrible ache came back to his chest. Now that he knew he was a transformer, Knight realized that the pain was coming from his _spark_. It was horrible—the ache had never been this bad before, except that one time when he had passed out in front of Darkstar. But he had to keep fighting.

Something compelled him to transform. _But I have endeavored to transform before, and it did not work. On the other hand, when I tried before I did not believe I was a transformer. Blackarachnia wanted me to change form. I __can__ do it. _

"Knight, maximize!" the wolf said. There was no change. _Oh yes_, he remembered, _I have to say __Silverbolt_. "Ahem. Silverbolt, maximize!" This time he did change. What he looked like, he did know, but he guessed he looked similar, if not identical, to that Silverbolt person he had seen from the past.

Suddenly Knight felt very weak. The pain was strong, and he had not had any energon nor been in an R Chamber for days. He lay down.

Knight heard someone breathing. He sat up again, and realized that Darkstar was standing above him. "Hey, Knight. You look like scrap."

"I feel like it too," Knight said, standing up. "Well, I'm glad you've come, Darkstar. I thought I'd tell you that I still want to be your friend, and Brent's as well; but my place is with the maximals. I'll make sure they don't hurt any of you on purpose. Darkstar, it—"

Suddenly Knight felt a blast of hot firepower hit him square in the face. The force of it made him fall down. He opened his eyes weakly. Knight's mouth dropped open. Darkstar was blowing out fire from his mouth!

"I'm a special breed of wolf," Darkstar smiled. "You might call it a…Transformer." Then Darkstar transformed. He was now a tall, slim, and strong-looking robot, obviously with the power equivalent of a Transmetal 2, but resembling an Original due to the dark fur covering most of his body. His face looked similar to Silverbolt's, only darker, with a very sharp chin, thick optic arches, and ice-cold blue eyes.

Knight could only stare. All this time, Darkstar had been one of them? The deceptive dark wolf did not wait a moment before taking out a pair of twin pistol-sized blasters in the shape of wolf heads. Laughing insolently, he fired both of them at Knight.

This was worse than the fire. Knight tottered backwards, struggled to keep his balance, and fell forward. He landed on his hands and knees, breathless. Darkstar kicked him to the ground.

"You—you're a transformer! All this time…I don't understand," Knight muttered.

"You never do understand anything, Silverbolt," Darkstar sighed. "Of course I am a transformer! How could I not be? How could my teeth rip through metal if I was an ordinary wolf, huh? And that night you fought the spider interloper, the shot that came out of nowhere, _I_ fired it. And how did I get up that sheer cliff? Easy, I flew. Anyway, do me a favor and tell me how you got out of the vortex after I closed The Window!"

"I don't know," Knight groaned. "The same thing that causes my spark to hurt, that binds me to my _noblese obligue_, as you put it. But what that thing is…I don't know. I can't remember."

"Then you're of no use to me," said Darkstar. "Any last words?"

"W-why?" Knight asked.

"Why what?" asked Darkstar impatiently.

"Why are you against me, Darkstar?"

The wolf-bot groaned. "First of all, don't call me Darkstar anymore. My real name is Black-comet, and I'm a scientist of Omicron. Anyhow, why am I against you? Because you're useless to me. Anything else?"

"Yes," Knight grunted. "…Who am I?—Knight, or Silverbolt?"

"You're Silverbolt, of course," Darkstar (now called Black-comet) growled. "But you've had your memory tracks messed up. Perhaps you'd like to hear the story? Well, I control a vortex. I can go in and out of the vortex whenever I want, and I can pull other people into the vortex in areas of gravitational disorientation. I am a predacon; hence my goal is dominating others. I thought turning time for my own purposes would be a good way to do that, but…the vortex is unpredictable. Naturally, I could not put myself in that peril. I needed someone else to go for me."

"You coward," said Knight grimly.

Black-comet smiled. "You'll pay for that in due time." He cleared his throat and went on. "So, here I was on earth watching you maximals and predacons. My energy signature cannot be picked up when I am beast mode, so I follow maximals around sometimes, waiting an opportunity to hire a bot.

"I followed you and a spider one day. There was a rockslide which supposedly killed you. The sentimental maximals left your body in a little cave and went to their base. Your spark left your body. Then, I saw that your spark was not going wherever sparks go when they leave transformer bodies. Your spark began to follow the maximals to their base. I decided this was my opportunity and I grabbed your spark and put it back in your body. I made some changes to your beast mode—"

"You!" Knight exclaimed wrathfully. "You made me disfigured like this?"

Black-comet nodded. "Yes. I took off your wings, tail, and talons."

Knight grimaced. "You're disgusting."

Black-comet swept a quick bow. "Thank you, sir. Anyway, I made sure your memory circuits were overwritten, and that you would feel very little pain when you awakened. Unfortunately, this did not work so well. You have those unexplained spark-aches. And despite the fact that your memory was overwritten, you still hold to your code of honor. I can't understand it. It makes no logical sense. It is equally nonsensical that you are able to transform, since the operations I preformed to prevent it were successful. All in all, there are some unexplained questions, but the fact is: you have to die. I don't need you; I've got a new assistant now."

"Oh no, you don't!" Depth Charge shouted. He had flown up from below. "After I heard that bunch of slag about turning time for your own purposes just now, do you think I'll be stupid enough to work for you? You underestimate me. You told me you would go back and change what happened on Omicron—you lying wuss!" Depth Charge aimed his blaster at the wolf-bot.

Black-comet turned a somersault to evade the ray's torpedoes, then, rising to his feet, shot at the manta-ray's jets.

Depth Charge fell downward, but grasped the edge of the ledge. Chuckling, Black-comet walked over to him. He stomped ferociously on Depth Charge's hands. Depth Charge shouted and let go. The wolf-bot laughed. "There goes another. Is falling off cliffs the latest trend around here?"

"You should know," said Knight; "_you're_ the one who pushes them off."

"Oh yes," Black-comet sighed irritably. "Now I've got to deal with YOU. You've heard all this, so even if my new employee quit, you still have to die." Black-comet turned to face Knight, and shot again.

"Hey, wolf-brains!" a voice shouted.

Black-comet turned to see Blackarachnia, hanging off the cliff face a few yards above. "Nobody does that to my love!" She shot a round of sticky webbing around the wolf-bot. Then Blackarachnia dropped off the wall and landed beside Knight.

Black-comet struggled, and managed to rip one hand free of the webbing. He pulled an energon sword out from a scabbard which hung on his back, and cut himself free with it. "Spider-femme!" he shouted. "I have this special recipe…for decapitated arachnids!" He slashed at her.

Blackarachnia dropped down on her knees to avoid the swipe, them swung her legs around, kicking the wolf-bot' shins and making him fall. She lunged for the sword, but he saw her coming and slashed again. Blackarachnia leapt upward and evaded the slice.

Knight struggled to his feet, almost blinded by the pain Black-comet had inflicted. The pain in Knight's spark, however, had ceased as soon as Blackarachnia came. The warrior wolf stumbled over to save his lady.

"So, you're the one behind all this, aren't'cha, big guy?" Blackarachnia asked mockingly, struggling for control of the sword-hilt. "I thought you would be a little tougher. Bots these days: boring. No competition."

"How's _this_ for competition?!" Black-comet roared, and shoved her off the sword. He now had complete control of it.

The wolf-bot sliced a downward stroke, which Blackarachnia easily dodged. The blade still on the ground, Blackarachnia stomped on it hard, breaking it into two shards. As Blackarachnia leaned over to grab her half the sword, Black-comet took his half and thrust directly at her.

"No!" Knight shouted, jumping between them.

"Silverbolt!" Blackarachnia screamed. When she looked up, he was standing in front of Darkstar with the energon sword sticking through him. She turned to Black-comet, eyes flaming. "You—"

She was cut off as Black-comet pulled the sword out of Knight with a jerk. Face twisted in pain, Knight grunted, moaned, and fell to the ground face first. Blackarachnia stood…speechless.

Black-comet turned Silverbolt over so they were face to face. "Again, any last words?" he smiled.

Knight struggled to say something. "Blackarachnia…I…figured it out. The connector…the root …that kept me going…"

"That's very nice," said Black-comet; "now goodbye." He thrust his sword downward, and stabbed right through Knight's spark. Knight's eyes went dark. UNIT SILVERBOLT OFFLINE. SPARK DETERIORATING.

Blackarachnia screamed. Silverbolt was gone, this time for good.

Black-comet turned to her, wearing the same leering smile. "Your turn, femme!" he growled, and lunged forward with the sword.

Blackarachnia backed up a little, but tripped and fell. Black-comet stood over her, and touched her throat with the tip of the energon sword. "Say goodbye to your competition," the wolf-bot laughed.

"Alright: goodbye!" came a familiar voice. An explosion lit up behind Black-comet, and he fell backwards. Somebody had defeated him. Blackarachnia lay where she was, trying to make out who her rescuer was. Whoever it was, he lifted Black-comet by the neck, and said, "You will not lay a finger on my love."

The strange rescuer threw Black-comet to the ground, where he tried uselessly to swing his sword at his overpowering enemy. The rescuer grabbed the sword and stabbed the Omicron professor. In a few seconds, he was dead.

So, somebody had saved Blackarachnia and killed Black-comet. But who? Blackarachnia didn't care. It didn't matter now. Without Silverbolt, nothing mattered. Silently, Blackarachnia remembered the words her lost love had spoken just before he was impaled.

"The connector…the root …that kept me going…"

What could that possibly be, Blackarachnia wondered? Silverbolt said that one connector held up the universe, and what Blackarachnia and Silverbolt felt for each other was a tiny fragment of that power. The name for that power, she had forgotten. And she didn't care.

Despite the spider's carelessness and dumbstruck despair, she wondered who the stranger was—the stranger who had rescued her from Black-comet just now. She began slowly to look up.

As she brought her head up, she remembered something. Silverbolt's voice said: _I know this feeling well—it's the feeling that binds all hearts and holds all memory—but I've forgotten its name. _Blackarachnia heard her own voice reply, _Its name is love_.

The connector! Blackarachnia realized. _Its name is love._ She looked up, and could scarcely believe what she saw. Tears came to her eyes, for about the millionth time in these past few days. But these were not tears of grief. This was joy.

"S—S—Silverbolt!" she exclaimed, all her heart in that one shout.

It was true. The stranger who had just saved her, completely healed with wings in place and shining armor polished to perfection, was Silverbolt. Blackarachnia blessed those heaven-sent wings.

Blackarachnia ran to him, her feet finding a strength she didn't know she had. Silverbolt was waiting for her, with outstretched arms. She fell into those arms, and they closed about her. At last, she was where she wanted to be most! She laid her head against his warm chest and put her arms around him.

Home at last.

_Silverbolt_, the fuzore thought. _Yes, that is my name_. His memory was back. He remembered everything now. Blackarachnia smiled; this was her heaven on earth. _Now_, she thought, _if he would just say that one corny line…_

"Blackarachnia," Silverbolt whispered fervently, "oh, dark poison of my heart!"

Blackarachnia laughed. Or maybe she was crying, she couldn't tell.

"But…Silverbolt," Blackarachnia asked, "how?"

"It all makes sense now," said Silverbolt; "why my spark didn't go to the Matrix after the rockslide. My spark was following _you_. Don't you see?—our sparks are bound together. My spark was not extinguished when Black-comet stabbed it a moment ago, because it _had_ to be with your spark. That connector bound our sparks, and it completely healed me. Even though my memory circuits were overwritten, our sparks hold all our memories forever. Intertwined sparks…that is why we have both been in pain; our sparks are in _pain_ when they are not together."

It all seemed so impossible! So complex, and yet so simple. That was love.

"Well," Blackarachnia sighed, "guess that means I'm stuck with ya, Rover." She reached up and ran her hand along his face. "You'll never know how much I missed you."

"Yes I will," said Silverbolt. "Because I felt it too." He bent his head down and kissed her.

"You're hopelessly sappy, Silverbolt," Blackarachnia smiled.

Silverbolt laughed: a sound which made all the troubles of the world vanish before Blackarachnia's eyes. _There is great strength in inter-bound sparks,_ she remembered Cheetor telling her. More comfortable than she had ever been in her life, Blackarachnia relaxed in Silverbolt's arms. _Pure, strong, and fast_, she thought; _with the heart of a true wolf_.

Silverbolt threw back his head and howled the victory cry of a wolf.

**THE END**


End file.
